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-CDEXRIGHT DEPOStT. 



VERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



BY 
FREDERICK F. BLACHLY 

PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT AND DIRECTOR OF THE 

BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 

AND 

MIRIAM E. OATMAN 




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CHARLES E. MERRILL COMPANY 



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Copyright, 1920, 1922, 

BY 

CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 



SEP 26 '22 

A6S3394 



PREFACE 

^ This book is an attempt to make it clear to young 
people that the privileges and duties of citizenship are 
matters of everyday life. Its object is to lead them to see 
government, not as a remote, incomprehensible, and rather 
alarming abstraction, but as a controllable agency for the 
service of all citizens. 

The organization and structure of government have 
here been treated with constant reference to their purpose, 
the carrying on of common enterprises. The young citizen 
is rightly interested in the work done by pubhc officials, 
and in his own share in public work, rather than in the 
machinery itself. 

An appeal is made to the student^s interest by the use 
of many illustrations based on everyday experience. The 
arrangement of topics, beginning with local government 
and proceeding to the less familiar work and organization 
of state and nation, is designed to lead him logically from 
the known to the less known. 

The great end of our government, the service of all the 
people, is emphasized at every point. While no attempt 
is made to mislead the pupil into the false view that no 
further improvements can be made in our local and general 
systems, the value of democratic government and the need 
of loyal cooperation with it are repeatedly demonstrated. 

The questions at the end of each chapter are intended to 
lead the student not only to think, but to do. To develop 
a body of citizens who consider the workings of their govern- 



iv PREFACE 

ment and take an active part in its undertakings, is the 
fundamental purpose of the present volume. 

The authors are indebted to several members of the 
faculty of the University of Oklahoma and to a number of 
other friends for helpful criticisms and suggestions. Thanks 
are due to various friends for valuable photographs which 
have been used as illustrations; and also to the American 
Museum of Natural History, New York, for the use of the 
picture reproduced on page 65. 

F. F. B. 
M. E. 0, 



CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Nature of Government . . 1 

II. The Functions of Modern Government 7 

III. The Divisions of Government . . 13 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

IV. The City and Its Work; Street Build- 
ing, Cleaning, and Lighting . . 19 
V. The City; the Police Department and 

Justice ...... 26 

VI. The City; Fire Protection . . 33 

VII. Municipal Health and Sanitation . 39 

VIII. Water Supply . . . . .45 

IX. Disposal of Waste . . . . . 51 

X. Education; the Public Schools . . 59 

XI. Special Educational Agencies . . 64 

XII. Recreation and Welfare . . . 68 

XIII. City Organization; the Mayor-Coun- 

cil Plan .... .72 

XIV. The Commission and the Commission- 

Manager Plans . . . .77 

XV. The Township . . . . .84 

XVI. The County . . . . .87 



vi CONTENTS 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVII. The Development and Work of State 

Governments . . . . . 91 

XVIII. State Constitutions .... 95 

XIX. The State and Its Work ... 99 

XX. Education ...... 105 

XXI. Care of Special Classes . . . 109 

XXII. Public Health ..... 114 

XXIII. The Judicial Power of the State . 119 

XXIV. The Legislative Power of the State . 126 

XXV. The Executive Power of the State . 131 

XXVI. State Finances . . . . .134 



THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

XXVII. The Development of the National 

Government ..... 137 
XXVIII. What the National Government Does 142 
XXIX. Public Defense ..... 144 
XXX. The Regulation of Commerce and of 

Immigration ..... 148 
XXXI. The Post Office Department . - . 155 
XXXII. The Conservation of Natural Re- 
sources ...... 160 

XXXIII. Paying for the Work of the Govern- 

ment ...... 167 

XXXIV. The Federal Constitution . . . 171 
XXXV. The Legislative Power of the Na- 
tion . . . . . . 175 

XXXVI. The Judicial Power of the Nation . 182 
XXXVII. The Executive Power of the Nation . 188 



CONTENTS vii 

XXXVIII. New Problems of the National Gov- 
ernment . . . , .193 
XXXIX. The People and the Federal Govern- 
ment ...... 197 

XL. Political Parties and Elections . 201 

XLI. International Relations . . . 208 

XLII. The Future of America . . . 213 
XLIIL American Citizenship — a Privilege and 

a Responsibility . . . .221 

Suggestions for Outside Reading . . . 227 

Constitution of the United States . . . 230 

Index . . . . . . . . 245 



INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER I 

THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT 

The General Need of Rules and Officers. — When people 
form a literary society or an athletic association or any other 
organization for the purpose of doing certain work, they 
adopt rules to guide them, and select officers to see that 
the rules are carried out and that the work is done. By 
long experience men have discovered that when a large 
number of persons are working together, unless they have 
some guiding rules and officers with authority to enforce 
these rules, all will be confusion and nothing will be ac- 
complished. There must be a president of the organiza- 
tion, for example, with authority to keep its meetings 
orderly and to decide which member ^^has the floor,'^ or 
is entitled to speak. There must be a treasurer, with au- 
thority to collect dues and to pay bills. Perhaps there are 
other officers, with different powers. This depends, of 
course, on the kind of work which the organization is under- 
taking. It is necessary for all the members to be guided by 
the officers and to keep the rules. If they do not do this — 
if they refuse to pay dues, or engage in fist-fights during 
business meetings in spite of all that the president can say — 
the association will certainly be a failure. Obedience to au- 
thority is absolutely essential in order that any organiza- 
tion may carry on its work successfully. 

1 



2 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

The need of rules, and of strict regard for the rules, is 
naturally greater and greater as the number of people con- 
cerned is greater, and the work more complicated. An 
athletic association in one school might have a few simple 
rules and two or three officers; but if a league of athletic 
associations is formed with a branch in every school in the 
county, there must be a large number of rules and many 
officers of various ranks, such as president of the county 
association, a chairman of each branch association, central 
and local treasurers, corresponding secretaries, perhaps 
vice-chairmen, and members of a board of directors. To 
make the association a success, it would be necessary for 
every branch to follow its rules or obey its authority. 

In order to make sure that the rules of any association 
or league will be followed by the members, it is customary 
to establish penalties or punishments for disobedience. 
Thus, if the Lincoln Grammar School Athletic Association 
has a rule requiring all members to attend its monthly meet- 
ings, absence may be penalized by a fine of ten cents. The 
breaking of other rules may mean larger fines or suspension 
or even expulsion from the association. 

Why Government Is Necessary. — This makes it clear 
to us why government is necessary in every nation, state, 
county, and city. Each of these is composed of a great many 
people who wish to do certain things together, such as 
educating young people, taking care of the poor, establishing 
a system of waterworks, and countless other undertakings. 
They must have rules, or laws, and officers to carry them 
out; otherwise they can accomplish nothing. Just as in the 
case of a private association, penalties are needed in order 
to insure that the laws will be obeyed. 

Democratic Government. — When people adopt rules or 



THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT 3 

laws in regard to things which concern them all — that is, 
public affairs — and provide for officers to perform dif- 
ferent duties in accordance with these rules, they are said 
to organize a government. , Government is a system by 
means of which public work is done. When a government 
has been organized by the people of any country, according 
to the above description, it is called a democratic govern- 
ment or a democracy. The United States has this form 
of government. 

Autocratic Government. — Sometimes the rules by which 
people are governed and the officials who carry out the rules 
are not chosen by the people according to their own will, 
but are forced upon them by a man, or a group of men, with 
very little interest in the wishes of the people but a great 
deal of interest in personal advantage. Such a government 
is called an autocratic government or an autocracy. Citizens 
of the United States, and the most progressive people in all 
civilized countries, agree that this is an undesirable form of 
government. They believe that, since everyone is con- 
cerned in public affairs, it is not just and right for a few in- 
dividuals to conduct these matters for their own private 
benefit. 

Of course, the people who live under an autocratic govern- 
ment are always very much greater in number than those 
who rule them, and could easily overthrow the autocracy 
and set up a democracy if they would all work together. 
As education and enlightenment are spreading throughout 
the world, several nations are doing this. 

Representative Government. — It is impossible for all 
the people in a city, a state, or a nation to vote on every 
law that is to be passed, or on every single clerk, stenog- 
rapher, policeman, and fireman who is needed to carry on 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



public work. They cannot spare the time from their bus- 
iness to investigate every proposed law or every individual's 
qualifications. Therefore nearly all democracies today are 
representative democracies. This means that the people 
elect certain individuals to represent them — that is, to act 
in their place — and to vote upon laws according to their 




Chamber of the House of Representatives in the Capitol at Washington. 
Here representatives from every part of the country meet to carry on pubHc 
business. 

best judgment of what the people need and desire. The 
people elect also some of the principal officials, such as 
members of the school boards, members of the city council, 
and governor of the state: and allow these elected officials 
to appoint many subordinate officers, as city superintend- 
ents of schools, city health officers, stenographers, secre- 
taries, and many more. This system has two advantages. 



THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT 5 

First: it saves the people a great deal of time and trouble. 
Second: it enables the voters, since they have only a few 
men to elect, to look about for very good ones. 

Importance of Supporting the Government. — When a 
democratic government has once been established, it should 
be loyally supported by everyone, and the laws made by 
the people or their representatives should be respected. 
What would be the effect upon our athletic association if 
all those who had voted against a certain rule should refuse 
to keep it? We can easily see that in a short time there 
would be no association at all, or at best merely a weak 
imitation of one, which could do no real work. Faithful 
support is essential to the success of any organization; and 
this is just as true of public organizations, such as state or 
national governments, as of private ones. We may seek to 
have laws changed, just as we may try to have rules of our 
athletic association changed; but until the laws or rules are 
repealed; they must be obeyed, for without loyalty, obedi- 
ence, and cooperation, no work can be accomplished. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Name some society or organization to which you belong, and 
explain its principal rules. What is the use of these rules? 

2. What would be the effect upon a school if there were no rules 
of any kind? What would be the effect if nobody obeyed teachers, 
principal, or other officers? 

3. Suppose firemen refused to obey the chief, laboring men re- 
fused to obey the superintendent, football players refused to obey 
the coach. What would be the consequences? 

4. Are rules always agreeable? Does the fact that a rule is un- 
pleasant give persons to whom it appUes the right to disobey it? 
Give reasons for your answer. 

5. What methods are used in your school to compel people to 
obey its rules? 



6 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

6. What methods are used when persons break public rules, 
or laws? What is the object of punishment? 

7. Give several examples of democratic governments. 

8. What is meant by saying that a person represents a school, 
or a city, or a state? 

9. If you are about to form a county athletic association, will 
every pupil in the county attend the meeting at which the association 
is to be organized? Who will attend it? How will these persons 
be selected? 

10. Explain clearly what a representative is expected to do. 

11. If you wish a certain bill passed by your state legislature, 
what members would you ask to work for it? Learn the names of 
the state senator and the state representative from your district. 

12. If you wish the Congress of the United States to pass a 
bill, to whom would you write? Learn the names of the senators 
from your state and the representative from your congressional 
district. Find out exactly what is meant by congressional district. 

13. What is loyalty to one's government? Why is it necessary? 
How can people show loyalty? 

14. Can a person be loyal to a government even though he 
believes that some of its laws and undertakings are wrong? Ex- 
plain your answer. 

15. What should a loyal citizen do in order to help improve the 
laws that he considers mistaken? 



CHAPTER II 
THE FUNCTIONS OF MODERN GOVERNMENT 

Various Kinds of Public Work. — We have seen that the 
purpose of government is to perform public work, and it 
is natural that our next inquiry should be: What kinds of 
work do governments carry on? We can easily realize that 
the answer to this question will vary according to the govern- 
ment that we are considering. We should not expect to 
find the government of a barbarous country doing work of 
the same nature as that done by the government of a more 
advanced nation. There are a few things, however, which 
are done by practically every government. 

National Defense. — The first of these important kinds 
of work is that of national defense. From the savage tribe 
to the most highly civilized modern people, we find all 
national governments endeavoring to prevent and to over- 
come warlike attacks by other nations, by means of armies, 
navies, and necessary equipments. Quite often, govern- 
ments prepare not only for defense, but for campaigns of 
conquest. Preparation for conquest is not a necessary 
function, and it has led to so much suffering and injustice 
in the world's history that the greatest problem before 
modern statesmen is that of devising some plan to make 
it impossible in the future. 

Preserving Internal Order. — A second function which is 
carried on by nearly all governments is that of preserving 
internal order. We have all read in history about the deeds 
of robber barons, and about the wars waged by the knights 

7 



8 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

of the Middle Ages. Even in those times, the existing 
governments made some attempts to keep order; and today 
most governments are quite successful in doing so. Our 
own country is still disgraced by occasional riots and lynch- 
ings; but as our people become more and more advanced, 
they will stand firmly behind the governmental authorities 
and help them to put down all such disorders. Many 
eminent lawyers and other public-spirited persons are trying 
to improve our legal systems so that trials may be speedy 
and guilty individuals may be adequately punished, thus re- 
moving the danger that people may become impatient to 
see criminals punished and may resort to "mob rule." But 
even though trials are slow and it seems as if the offender is 
not being brought to justice rapidly, we must not become 
lawbreakers in order to punish others. As President Wood- 
row Wilson wrote : ' ' There have been many lynchings, and 
every one of them has been a blow at the heart of ordered 
law and humane justice. ... I can never accept any man 
as a champion of liberty, either for ourselves or for the 
world, who does not reverence and obey the laws of our 
beloved land, whose laws we ourselves have made." 

Administration of Justice.— One more type of work which 
is done by governments everywhere is the administration of 
justice. This means the punishment of criminals, the en- 
deavor to reform them, the settlement of disputes about 
property and other matters, and the carrying on of many 
similar functions. 

Other Functions of Government.— To these three main 
kinds of work modern government's have added many others, 
only a few of which can be mentioned here for lack of space. 
It would take several books to describe fully the work done 
by our own national government, and a whole hbrary to set 



THE FUNCTIONS OF MODERN GOVERNMENT 9 

forth all that is done by the national government, the forty- 
eight state governments, the city and county governments, 
and the governments of territories and dependencies. It is 
impossible, of course, to go into details, but we may glance 
for a moment at some of the more important things which, 
modern governments are doing. 

Care of Special Classes. — The care of special classes of 
persons who are unable to care for themselves is now quite 
generally under the control of some branch of government. 
In this country, it is usually carried on by the governments 
of the various states, or perhaps by the counties. Orphan 
children, imbeciles, insane persons, very old persons who 
have no means and no relatives to support them, the deaf, 
the blind, wayward girls and boys whose parents are not 
able to keep them from doing wrong, persons suffering from 
certain diseases, such as tuberculosis — these and other 
classes of persons are cared for by agencies of the govern- 
ment. 

Education, — Education and the promotion of scientific 
discoveries are matters of interest to all the people in a state 
or a nation; and all modern governments supervise, con- 
trol, assist, or encourage them. Our national government 
maintains a group of officers who compose a Bureau of 
Education, which collects and publishes material that will 
be of use to educators and has other important functions; 
but the actual control over public education is held by the 
individual states. This is the case for several reasons, one 
of which is that each state knows what type of education 
is best suited to its own needs. 

Public Health. — The care of the public health is now a 
matter of governmental control. Nation, state, county, 
and city cooperate in the endeavor to establish sanitary 



10 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



conditions everywhere, to prevent the spread of disease, 
and to make every citizen sound, healthy, and vigorous. 

Means of Communication. — The provision of means of 
communication is a very important branch of governmental 
work. Our national government maintains a Post Office 
Department, with numerous branches in every state and 




Sorting the mail in a large post office. All the letters and packages must 
be examined for postage, address, etc.; and each one placed in the proper 
sack for delivery in the city or shipment to other places. 

territory. It is also a member of an International Postal 
Union, which makes it possible for a person in this country 
to write to a friend in China, with the full assurance that 
his letter will be delivered. Some governments own other 
means of communication, such as telephone and telegraph 
systems; but this is not the case in the United States. 
Control over Business. — All highly civilized nations to- 



THE FUNCTIONS OF MODERN GOVERNMENT 11 

day exercise some degree of control over business. It is 
generally admitted that the government may properly 
regulate the more important businesses in a way that will 
be fair to everyone concerned. This is the easiest and best 
way to prevent business interests from being unfair to the 
public by charging unnecessarily high prices and by other 
means, and also to prevent the public from being unfair 
to business interests by accusing them unjustly of doing 
such things. 

Social Welfare. — The development of social welfare in 
all possible ways is the great general aim of modern govern- 
ments. All the work of a democratic government is meant, 
of course, to make life more worth while for every member 
of society; but there are a number of special activities which 
help directly toward this great aim. Among such activities 
in the United States we find, for example, the establishment 
of a national Children's Bureau at Washington, D. C, and 
the protection of health given by the enforcement of the 
Pure Food and Drugs Acts. Some governments provide 
insurance against unemployment and old age pensions. 
One of the interesting developments of governmental 
insurance is the fact that during the recent war with Ger-- 
many the United States government itself insured the lives 
of its soldiers. 

Increasing Responsibilities of the Government. — All 
the kinds of work which we have discussed, and many 
others, have been placed in the hands of the government 
because the people have felt that no individual, and no 
small private organization, could perform the work properly. 
Though some persons believe that it is unwise to allow 
governments to undertake too many kinds of activities, 
there seems to be a growing tendency to place in their hands, 



12 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

or under their control^ more and more of the work in which 
large groups of people are interested. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Why is national defense undertaken by governments rather 
than by private associations of patriotic individuals? 

2. Give historical examples of campaigns of conquest. Find 
how these were regarded in ancient times. How are they regarded 
today? Why? 

3. Why is the preservation of order a duty of governments? 

4. Give all the arguments that you can against mobs and mob 
action, even when this is used to punish criminals. What would 
be the effect upon peace and order if mob rule became very com- 
mon? Why is it not only disorderly, but often very unjust, for 
mobs to punish wrongdoers? 

5. What can be done to lessen the evil of mob action in the 
United States? 

6. Why is it better for the government to administer justice 
than to leave this to private individuals? 

7. Why do governments undertake such work as the care of 
special classes, and of the pubhc health, education, etc.? Why 
should not education, for example, be left to the parents or friends 
of each child? 

8. What is the aim of a modern government? How can citizens 
cooperate in helping the government to reach this aim? 



CHAPTER III 
THE DIVISIONS OF GOVERNMENT 

Subdivisions of the Government. — We already know 
that in the United States there are several divisions of 
government. Each voter helps to select officers for the 
national government, his state government, his county 
government, and (if he lives in a city) for his city govern- 
ment. 

If we have thought carefully about the reasons why 
governments are established, we shall understand without 
much difficulty why these various divisions exist. They 
are organized chiefly for the sake of convenience in perform- 
ing public work. 

Affairs Controlled by the City. — The government of a 
city is of chief interest only to those who live in that city. 
Nobody. outside Jonesville is immediately concerned about 
the problem whether a new system of waterworks shall 
be installed there. It would be merely an annoyance for 
persons a thousand miles away to be asked to vote on the 
waterworks question. Even if they took the time to vote, 
they could hardly do so with much intelligence, as it would 
be almost impossible for them to study thoroughly the needs 
of Jonesville. Moreover, the expense of holding an election 
in which every voter in the United States was asked to take 
part would be heavier than the cost of the waterworks. All 
these considerations make it clear that it is best for the 
citizens of Jonesville, or of any other city, to manage their 
own affairs. They should elect their own officers, decide 

13 




14 



THE DIVISIONS OF GOVERNMENT 15 

upon their own undertakings, and conduct their own pubhc 
business without troubUng others or being molested by 
outsiders. 

Affairs Controlled by the State. — There are, however, 
many pubhc undertakings which are too large for a city to 
handle alone, and in which many cities, and many persons 
outside cities, wish to cooperate. Let us consider the 
problem of establishing a university, to which students 
might come from many cities and country districts for the 
benefits of free education. Great undertakings such as this 
are often managed, in the United States, by the state govern- 
mentSw The same reasons that have been given for allow- 
ing cities to control their own affairs apply in the case of the 
state. The people of New Jersey are not particularly, in- 
terested in deciding whether or not Oklahoma ought to 
have a state university; and it is better in every way to 
let those concerned in the question decide it. 

Matters of National Concern. — Some kinds of pubhc 
business concern everybody in the entire nation. There is 
hardly a person anywhere who is not interested in good 
mail service. Nearly everyone has friends or business 
affairs in some other part of the country, and needs the help 
of a well-conducted postal system in order to correspond 
with the friends or carry on the business. Everyone is 
concerned, too, in the problem of regulating the great rail- 
road systems which connect all parts of the United States, 
so that they will give good service at reasonable rates. 
These and many other kinds of public work which are of 
interest to every individual can be carried on successfully 
only through a government which is set up by all the people 
of the entire country — that is, a national government. 

County and Township. — The general rule is, as we have 



16 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

seen, that matters which concern a city shall be managed 
by the city government, those which concern a state shall 
be managed by the state government, and those which 
concern all the people of the nation shall be managed by 
the national government. It has been found convenient 
to make still other divisions of government, as the county 
and the township, for certain particular purposes, such as 
assisting the state in the collection of taxes and the care 
of roads and bridges. 

Distribution of Governm.ental Control. — It is not always 
easy to decide which of these divisions of government should 
control certain undertakings, for there are several kinds 
of public work which are of interest to city, state, and nation. 
One of these is education. Every city wishes a well- 
educated body of citizens, in order that they may choose 
good officials and support progressive undertakings. But 
the state and the nation also need educated citizens for 
exactly the same reason. Which division of government 
should control education? 

This is only a single example of many public matters 
which concern more than one division of government. As 
it would be foolish and wasteful for all the divisions to under- 
take the same work, some way must be found of deciding 
which one shall manage each affair. 

Division of Work between State and Nation. — In this 
country, certain historical facts have helped to solve such 
problems. When the original thirteen states adopted the 
federal Constitution, they retained all the rights and duties 
which were not especially mentioned as being given over 
to the national government. This has had a very important 
effect upon the distribution of work between the state and 
national governments. Another historical fact that has 



THE DIVISIONS OF GOVERNMENT 17 

had a similar influence is the custom (which has gained the 
force of law) of considering that the government of a state 
has the right to tell the inhabitants of a city within the 
state what functions their city government may perform, 
and to reserve for its own management such affairs as it 
does not give over to the city. 

Public Welfare as the Best Guide. — Such laws and 
customs have been of great assistance when people have 
wished to decide some difficult problem concerning the 
distribution of public work. However, the mere fact that 
a thing has been done in the past does not always make it 
advisable in the present, for circumstances are constantly 
changing. Convenience and public welfare are the best 
guides, and when old laws have been found to work in 
opposition to these guides, they have often been replaced 
by new laws, better suited to modern conditions. 

For instance, it used to be customary for each county or 
township to care for its own insane persons when their re- 
lations could not support them; but this is now generally 
done by the state. Since there were only a few insane in 
each county, it was seldom considered worth while to build 
an asylum and hire cooks, housekeepers, attendants, and 
physicians for perhaps a half-dozen persons. Usually this 
was not done, and the insane were not cared for at all or 
were placed in a poorhouse, where they were not given 
proper treatment. For much less money than it would 
cost the individual counties to provide good care and skilled 
physicians for the insane, the state can provide one or two 
large asylums managed by experts; hence, the care of the 
insane has become a state function nearly everywhere in 
this country. 

We see, then, that for the sake of convenience there must 



18 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

be various divisions of government; and that the pubHc 
work must be distributed among these in the way which is 
best suited to secure convenience and general welfare. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Name the chief divisions of government in the United States. 
What are some of the subdivisions of these larger divisions? 

2. What is the use of having so many divisions of different sizes? 
Why would it not be better to have every part of the United States 
governed by officials at Washington? Why would it not be better 
to abolish state and national governments, and permit each group 
of people in the country to govern themselves without regard to 
others? 

3. Name public matters, besides education, which concern more 
than one division of government. Which one of the divisions of 
government takes charge of each matter that you have named? 
Can you learn why this is the case, in each instance? 

4. Name any kinds of public work in which various divisions of 
government cooperate. 

5. What is the common-sense standard to apply in deciding 
which division of government should take charge of certain work? 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



CHAPTER IV 

THE CITY AND ITS WORK; STREET BUILDING, 
CLEANING, AND LIGHTING 

Local Government. — The divisions of government which 
perform the pubhc work of small localities are called local 
governments. This name is used for the governments of 
city, township, and county. The city gives us the most 
familiar example of local government. 

About one half of the inhabitants of the United States 
live in cities with a population of five thousand persons or 
more. As we already know, it is necessary for the dwellers 
in each city to do a large number of things together in order 
to secure good results. The pump in every ysivd has given 
way to the system of waterworks, generally owned or 
managed by the city; the lantern which our forefathers 
carried at night is replaced by street lights; and many other 
things have been given over to the city government because 
they can be done better, more easily, or more cheaply under 
public management than under private enterprise. 

Public Enterprises in the City. — One of the most im- 
portant kinds of work undertaken by the government of 
any city is the endeavor to make the city itself a safe and 
convenient place in which to live. With this purpose in 
view, the city builds streets and keeps them clean, lights 
them at night, furnishes policemen whose work it is to keep 

19 



20 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

order and prevent crime, arranges for the trial of persons 
who may be accused of committing certain offenses, and 
provides firemen to make the city as safe as possible from the 
danger of spreading flames. Let us look more closely at 
these valuable public enterprises. 

Advantages of Having Good Streets. — Nearly every 
modern city (except perhaps a few of the smallest ones) 
does a good deal of street paving. Even quite small cities 
generally have their chief business streets well paved. This 
work is done for many reasons. Well-paved streets make 
travel easy and prevent many accidents to both foot- 
passengers and vehicles. They are also of great value to 
business, as they make it easy for purchasers to visit stores, 
and for dealers to deliver goods. They improve the ap- 
pearance of a city, make it much more desirable as a place 
of residence than it would be without them, and conse- 
quently add to the value of the property which borders 
upon the paved streets. For all these reasons, every pro- 
gressive city is anxious to maintain good streets. 

Methods of Paving Streets. — Large cities often have 
their own force of laborers to carry on the work of building 
streets; but smaller ones, which build only a few streets 
each year, generally pay a contractor for doing the work. 
The material of which streets are made varies with the 
amount of traffic that will probably pass over the street, 
the financial condition of the city, the ease of obtaining 
material, and many other factors. Thus, a street running 
from a large freight station to the chief business section of 
the city would naturally have to be paved with much heavier 
and tougher material than a side street containing private 
houses. A city which was already very much in debt 
might have to use cheaper and poorer material than one 



THE CITY AND ITS WORK 21 

which was just beginning to make improvements and owed 
no debts. A city located near a granite quarry would 
probably use granite slabs or blocks, while one located 
where asphalt can readily be obtained would be likely to 
pave with asphalt. This is due to the fact that the freight 
charges or other shipping expenses would, as a rule, be much 
less on the material near by, thus making it considerably 
cheaper for the city than material brought from a long dis- 
tance. All these considerations, and many others, must be 
kept in mind by the city authorities when they are deciding 
upon the material for streets. 

Paying for Street Construction. — There are several 
methods of paying for city streets. Sometimes the city 
authorities compel the owners of property which adjoins a 
street to pay for having it paved. The value of property 
is increased so much by well-paved streets that this is con- 
sidered quite proper in the case of residence streets. Main 
thoroughfares, however, are sometimes paid for by the city 
itself. The money needed to pay for this work is borrowed 
by the city, which levies taxes to pay the interest on this 
loan and to repay later the sum originally borrowed. This 
method is used in order to let everyone share the cost of 
streets which everyone uses. More often, the property 
owners along main thoroughfares are taxed to pay a part 
of the cost of improvement, while the city pays the re- 
mainder. 

Keeping the Streets Clean. — All up-to-date cities not 
only build their streets, but keep them as clean as possible. 
Dirty streets are a disgrace to any city. They are not only 
ugly and a great nuisance to all who must walk or ride 
through them, but they mean a loss of many dollars to busi- 
ness men, in keeping customers away. Moreover, as breed- 



22 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



ing places for germs, which the wind distributes everywhere, 
dirty streets are a menace to pubHc health. 

In small cities the streets are generally cleaned by men 
with brooms, shovels, and carts, or by machine sweepers. 
In larger cities these same methods are used, and in addition 
it is customary to wash the streets late at night by flushing 
them with water from a large hose. Other methods of 





^^Ji lit -"M II^W— ^■' "if^fl 


"^^BlflHllMMMMMHMMMH^ , t^ 







A street cleaner at work. The street cleaners of New York City 
are often called "white wings" because of their white uniforms. 



cleaning have been tried, and it is the hope of experts that 
a good vacuum cleaner may soon be perfected, which will 
not be choked by paper and sticks. Some cities sprinkle 
their streets with oil to keep down the dust, and in summer 
many sprinkle with water, which not only lessens the dust 
nuisance, but cools the atmosphere. 

Removal of Snow. — The question of snow removal is a 
very serious one, especially in the larger cities, where thou- 
sands of dollars are lost if traffic is tied up for even a few 



THE CITY AND ITS WORK 23 

hours. It is usually difficult to find enough extra men to 
help the regular street-cleaning force in speedily removing 
snow. Cities have experimented for years in the hope of 
finding some quick and cheap method of clearing the streets 
after a snowfall, but they have not yet developed any system 
which is wholly satisfactory. 

In many cities snow is shoveled into heaps and carted 
away; in others it is shoveled into large sewers; and in a 
few Northern cities it is packed into a firm sheet by means 
of rollers, and allowed to remain on the ground all winter. 
This method would not be satisfactory except in cold cli- 
mates; if used elsewhere, the streets would be filled with 
melting snow every few days during the winter. 

Well-lighted Streets. — In addition to cleaning its streets, 
the modern city takes pains to keep them well lighted at 
night. This is not only a great convenience, but it has been 
found to lessen the number of accidents, as well as the 
number of robberies, burglaries, and other crimes usually 
committed in darkness. Business men find that it is of 
advantage to them. They can show their goods in attrac- 
tively decorated windows and can use other advertising 
devices, which would be of no value unless the streets were 
lighted so well that large numbers of people would pass over 
them each night. 

When a city is about to install a system of street lighting, 
there are many things which it must take into consideration. 
It must try to obtain good lighting at moderate cost. Gas 
and electricity are the principal fuels used in street lights 
today, though a few small cities still use kerosene or some 
other inflammable liquid. Which of these fuels is selected 
depends on several considerations, such as cost, quality, 
and dependability. Thus, a city located in a gas field would 



24 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

probably use gas because it was cheaper than electricity; 
but if the gas flow failed several times, causing great in- 
convenience and suffering and the loss of a good deal of 
money, the city might decide that electricity was a prefer- 
able form of fuel, even though more costly. Of course, no 
kind of lighting system is worth while, no matter how cheap 
it may be, unless it keeps the streets well lighted. 

Distribution and Power of Street Lights. — The distribu- 
tion of lights and the power of each lamp are matters which 
require thought and care. Sufficient light for a residence 
street, where few people pass by night, would be quite insuf- 
ficient for a main thoroughfare, where there are pedestrians 
and vehicles in large numbers. The residence street re- 
quires only enough lights of moderate power to enable 
persons to pass along it without danger of falling over curbs, 
to protect them from being surprised by thieves, and to 
protect houses from attacks by burglars. In the business 
section or the theatrical section of a city, much more light 
is necessary, as the danger of collisions between vehicles 
increases with the number of vehicles, and the difficulties 
of crossing the street on foot are much greater. The streets 
should be so light that a person can cross them rapidly, 
without danger of being struck by an automobile as he 
hesitates which way to turn. Street intersections should 
have powerful lamps so placed as to throw light for many 
yards in every direction. Parks should be lighted thor- 
oughly, so that no pickpocket or other criminal can be con- 
cealed in them; but the lamps should be of moderate power, 
in order that citizens may enjoy the parks withom 
annoyed by a strong glare. 

When a city has well-constructed, well-cleaned, and well- 
lighted streets, and at the same time is not paying un- 



THE CITY AND ITS WORK 25 

reasonable prices for these benefits, it has done a great deal 
toward making itself a desirable place in which to live. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What is a local government? Give examples. 

2. Give examples to show that when people collect in cities, it is 
necessary for them to do many things together. 

3. Why would it not be just as well for cities to let each prop- 
erty owner pave the street before his own property, instead of 
undertaking this work and charging the owner for it? 

4. Of what materials are the streets in your own city made? 
Compare the materials used in the chief business streets and in 
residence streets. 

5. What system of street cleaning is employed in your city? 
Are the streets kept clean? Can you suggest any methods of im- 
proving the street-cleaning service? Are boxes for trash placed 
at frequent intervals? Is their use made compulsory by ordinance? 
Is the ordinance enforced? 

6. Is the problem of snow removal a difficult one in your city? 
What are the chief difficulties? What methods are used? Can 
you suggest remedies or improvements? 

7. What system of street lighting is used in your city? Is it 
satisfactory? Are the lights well located? 

8. Find what it cost the city last year to keep its streets cleaned 
and lighted. Try to obtain figures for other cities of about the same 
size. Do you judge that your city is obtaining satisfactory results 
for the money it is spending? Ought it to spend more money or 
less money on these services? Give reasons. 



CHAPTER V 
THE CITY; THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND JUSTICE 

The Police Force. — In all cities, no matter how small, 
there are almost sure to be persons who would commit 
crimes if they were not afraid of punishment. To protect 
the other inhabitants against such persons, a police force is 
provided by every city. In small cities this force may con- 
sist of a single marshal; in large cities it may include many 
patrolmen, mounted policemen, detectives, officers of vari- 
ous ranks, and a city commissioner who has charge of the 
police department. Whether the police force is small or 
large, its first duty is to prevent crime, in order that the 
citizens may go about their affairs without danger. 

Prevention of Crime. — In small cities, where everybody 
is known by everybody else, and a stranger of suspicious ap- 
pearance would be noticed immediately, it is not necessary 
to patrol the streets. In large cities, however, where most 
of the inhabitants are strangers to one another, policemen 
must walk about the streets constantly and prevent crime 
by various means. For example, if a policeman sees a ragged 
and vicious-looking man studying the outside of a splendid 
mansion, as if he were trying to find an easy place to enter, 
the policeman orders him to move on. If the man is known 
to be a burglar, the policeman may arrest him on the charge 
of loitering. If a policeman sees some suspicious-looking 
person drop a satchel in the hallway of a pubHc building, 
just after letters have been received from anarchists threat- 
ening to dynamite the public buildings, the policeman tells 

26 



THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND JUSTICE 27 

the man to pick up the satchel and accompany him to the 
poHce station for examination. Great numbers of crimes 
are prevented by watchful and efl&cient policemen. 

Detection of Crime. — Of course, it is impossible for any 
police force to prevent crime and misdemeanors entirely. 
A few persons will commit evil deeds despite every pre- 
caution, and large numbers of persons commit misdemeanors 
by breaking city ordinances against speeding in auto- 
mobiles, riding bicycles on sidewalks, allowing poultry to 
run at large, and similar actions. When persons have com- 
mitted offenses, whether great or small, it is the duty of the 
police force to arrest them and bring them before the proper 
authorities. This is usually easy in the case of small misde- 
meanors; but in the case of great crimes, such as burglary 
and murder, it is often very difficult to trace the guilty per- 
son. In this case ^^plain-clothes men,'' or detectives, are 
set to work to make searching inquiries and to do their 
best to locate the criminal. By such means as this, the 
police department tries to make the city safe. 

Traffic Police. — Policemen have many other duties than 
these, however. In the larger cities there are numbers of 
traffic policemen. These do not patrol the streets, but 
stand at cross-streets where thousands of cars, trucks, other 
vehicles, and pedestrians pass every day, and signal '^Go '' 
or ^^Stop,'' so that the great streams of traffic may move 
without causing accidents. These policemen watch small 
children and elderly and crippled persons, and see that they 
cross the streets in safety. Strangers in large cities find . 
policemen a great help, as they are always ready to tell 
where certain buildings are located, what cars should be 
taken to reach various sections of the city, and other things 
of this sort. 



28 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Women on the Police Force. — Beside the ordinary poHce 
force, many cities now have poHcewomen, whose particular 
duty it is to care for the safety of women, girls, and children. 
These policewomen have authority to make arrests, and do 




A class being instructed in the art of Americanized jiu jitsu, as adopted 
for police purposes in the Police Department of New York City. This 
shows a more humane way of handling prisoners than using the night stick 
to get them under restraint. 

SO whenever it seems necessary; but their chief work is of a 
preventive nature. If a policewoman sees a child in the 
company of adult criminals, for example, she investigates 
his home life. In case his parents are respectable, she tells 
them of their child^s evil companions and asks them to 
help her in keeping him away from such influences. If the 



THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND JUSTICE 29 

parents are unfit to have the care of a child, the pohce- 
woman takes measures to have him placed in better sur- 
roundings. Policewomen have proved so beneficial that 
more and more cities are employing them. 

Training Schools for Policemen. — New York City has a 
very interesting training school for policemen, where they 
learn how to perform every sort of task that is likely to come 
their way, including first aid to the injured. Philadelphia 
and Chicago have similar schools, and as the movement 
spreads, we may expect to find in every large city a most 
efficient police force. i 

Functions of the Judge. — The policeman is not the only 
person concerned in making the city safe from lawbreakers. 
It is necessary for every person accused of crime or misde- 
meanor to be tried, in order to discover whether he is guilty 
or whether he has been arrested by mistake, and is innocent 
of any wrongdoing. Even if he has done the thing of which 
he is accused, there may be ^^extenuating circumstances ^^-\- 
that is, reasons why his guilt is not so great as it seemed be- 
fore the case was investigated. A magistrate or a judge 
must examine every person arrested, determine whether 
he is deserving of punishment, and, in some cases, decide 
what that punishment shall be. 

The Purpose of Punishment. — The word punishment, as 
used here, does not mean revenge. When a person has 
broken the speed laws of a city and is fined ten dollars, this 
penalty is not given in a spirit of vengeance. When of- 
fenders are punished by the officers of the law, the punish- 
ment is given in order to keep the lawbreaker from repeating 
his offense. It is given in order to improve the conduct of 
the wrongdoer, and in order to save others from suffering 
because of his misconduct. 



30 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



Police Courts. — The police courts and other city courts 
never try persons for very great crimes. A man accused of 
murder, for example, is considered dangerous to the whole 
state, and his trial is conducted by higher courts than those 




In the juvenile court shown here, every child will be kindly treated, and 
encouraged and helped in the right direction. 

of the city. In the city courts cases are tried which concern 
the breaking of city ordinances, the theft of small sums, and 
other minor matters. 

Civil Courts. — Besides the courts where offenses are tried, 
there are city courts which settle legal disputes over small 
matters. If a grocer sues to collect a bill of a few dollars, 
which the customer declares he has already paid, this con- 
troversy will be decided in a municipal court. Such cases 
as these, where there is no accusation of crime or misde- 
meanor, but merely a dispute about money or other prop- 



THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND JUSTICE 31 

erty, are called civil cases, and the courts in which they are 
tried are called civil courts. 

Traffic Courts and Juvenile Courts. — Some cities have 
special courts for different classes of persons. Among these 
are traffic courts for persons accused of speeding or refus- 
ing to stop when ordered to do so by traffic policemen, 
and of similar offenses; and juvenile courts, where children 
are tried. Before these courts were established, children 
who were accused of small offenses were tried in the same 
courts with hardened criminals. This made the children 
feel that they were looked upon as criminals, and often 
discouraged them so much that it led them to reckless con- 
duct. In the juvenile courts, the children who have done 
wrong are treated with kindness and are helped to do better, 
perhaps by being placed under the supervision of a pro- 
bation officer, who acts as a kind of guardian, keeps in touch 
with the children's school records, and uses every possible 
means of encouraging them to do right. This often prevents 
them from growing up as lawbreakers. Small cities seldom 
have many special courts; but in these cities it is customary 
to appoint a probation officer to care for children who are 
accused of wrongdoing. 

Thus we see that the cities of today are using every means 
at their command to prevent crime, and to keep those who 
have once offended against the law from doing so again. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. How large is the police force in your city? How is it or- 
ganized? 

2. What salaries are paid the members of the local police force? 
What qualifications are required? Are any training and equips 
ment supplied? 



32 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

3. Do the members of the pohce force perform any duties besides 
the arrest of offenders? 

4. Are many arrests made, in comparison with the offenses that 
are known to have been committed, or do a large proportion of 
guilty persons escape arrest? In the latter case, can you learn 
whether this is due to a shortage of policemen or to lack of activity 
or efficiency in the force? 

5. What courts are held in your city? (If your city is very 
small, you will probably find that the only court is that held by a 
justice of the peace) . If there are several courts, tell the kinds 
of cases that are tried in each one. 

6. If there is no juvenile court in your city, learn all that you 
can from books and magazines about juvenile courts in other cities. 
Can you tell why these have spread very rapidly since they were 
first established? 

7. Why must there be policemen and courts and prisons? 

8. What are the objects of punishment? 



CHAPTER VI 
THE CITY; FIRE PROTECTION 

Annual Loss from Fire. — Nearly every modern city is 
doing a great deal to protect its residents and their prop- 
erties from the danger of fire. This work, however, has 
not progressed so well in the United States as in other 
countries; and the average yearly loss for each individual 
here is actually ten times as great as it is in some parts of 
Europe. 

Fire-Fighting Apparatus. — For one thing our American 
cities deserve great praise; namely, the excellent fire-fighting 
apparatus which they provide. Even the small cities gen- 
erally have good engines and ladder trucks, hose, and other 
necessary apparatus. Where the water pressure of a city 
is not strong and steady, it is customary to provide chemical 
engines, which do not depend upon water, as the chem- 
icals which they contain will extinguish an ordinary fire. 
Formerly all apparatus was drawn by horses, but motors 
are now generally in use. 

The Firemen. — Nearly every city has stations in which 
the fire-fighting apparatus is kept. In many cities the 
fire-station provides sleeping quarters for several men, 
so that there will always be men ready to go out with the 
engines at a moment^s notice. These firemen are paid by 
the city and are carefully drilled in their duties. They are 
taught how to arrange their clothing when they go to bed, 
so that they can dress in a few seconds if a fire alarm comes 

during the night. They are taught how to take out the 

33 



34 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



engines and all the apparatus in the quickest possible way, 
for every second counts when a fire is to be conquered. 
They are drilled in the best methods of using the various 
kinds of apparatus, taught how to enter a burning building 




These firemen are fighting the flames which threaten to destroy the build- 
ing, and are rescuing inmates. By their help, everyone will escape, even 
though the stairways in the house are burning. 



with the least possible risk, drilled in dropping persons 
carefully from windows into large nets and in jumping into 
these nets from great heights, and trained in other methods 
of saving life and property. In some cities they are required 
to inspect certam districts from time to time, and to plan 
the best way of fighting a fire if one should break out in 
any section. 

Organization of the Fire Department. — In the largest 



THE CITY; FIRE PROTECTION 35 

cities there is a commissioner or similar official who has 
entire charge of the fire department. Under him there are 
captains and other officers who have charge of the fire- 
stations in various districts. All these men, as well as the 
firemen, are paid by the city to give their full time to their 
work. Minor cities have some paid firemen and other 
volunteer helpers; while in the smallest cities, which can 
hardly afford to pay men to fight perhaps ten or twelve fires 
in a year, there are generally volunteer fire companies. 

Fire-Alarm Signals. — Every city has some system of 
fire-alarm signals. Some cities have whistles, some have 
bells or gongs, and others have electric signals which flash a 
warning at the fire-station. We are all familiar with some 
of the arrangements by which these signals not only show 
that there is a fire, but direct the firemen toward it. Thus, 
a fire in the first ward of a city may be announced by one 
long blast of the fire whistle; a fire in the second ward by 
two blasts, etc. This works well in a small city; but in a 
larger one, where it is necessary to give more definite signals, 
the electric alarms designate the block where the fire is rag- 
ing. Of course, the telephone is extremely valuable in giving 
notice of a fire. 

Why Fire Losses Are Large in the United States. — With 
all these arrangements for conquering fire, how is it that 
we have such heavy losses? One answer is that we are not 
careful, in most parts of the United States, to prevent fires 
from starting. Fire is an excellent illustration of the prov- 
erb that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 
We shall never reduce our great annual losses to a low figure, 
until we use every possible means of preventing fires from 
starting. Another reason for our heavy losses is the fact 
that in many cities the laws intended to protect the com- 



36 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

munity from the danger of fire are not enforced. In Ameri- 
can cities, too, there are many frame houses with shingle 
roofs, while in most European cities the buildings are con- 
structed of non-inflammable material. 

The Building Code. — Most cities are now taking measures 
which will be very helpful in preventing fires. One of the 
most important of these is the adoption of a building code; 
that is, a set of rules laying down certain requirements for 
every building in crowded parts of the city. These codes 
generally require that all theaters, office buildings, or other 
places where large numbers of people gather must be of fire- 
proof materials, and that all large apartment houses must 
have fireproof walls. All buildings of every sort must have 
fireproof roofs, so that they will not be set on fire by flying 
sparks. These are only a few examples of the many care- 
ful provisions laid down in building codes. Cities often com- 
pel the owners of old buildings, which were constructed 
before the codes were adopted, to make improvements that 
will lessen the danger of fire in them. 

Protection through Control of Business. — Besides the 
building code, practically all cities have ordinances regulat- 
ing the kinds of business that may be carried on in certain 
districts and in certain types of buildings. For example, 
nobody would be allowed to manufacture gunpowder in a 
crowded district of any city or in a wooden building. 
Garages, and other places where inflammable or explosive 
materials are kept, must be in fireproof buildings, as a rule. 
Many cities prohibit the storing of excelsior, shavings, old 
papers, and similar materials in any cellar or basement. All 
the larger cities have inspectors whose duty it is to see that 
the ordinances in regard to fire are obeyed, and that persons 
refusing to obey them are punished. As more and more 



THE CITY; FIRE PROTECTION 37 

cities adopt these wise measures, the fire losses of the United 
States will be greatly decreased. 

Educating the Citizens in Fire Prevention. — Another 
important work undertaken by many cities is that of educat- 
ing the citizens in fire prevention. ^^Fire-fighting week/' 
or some other campaign period, is advertised in the news- 
papers, and many articles are published showing the 
various causes of fire and the way to remove these causes. 
Public speakers discuss the subject. Every citizen is asked 
to clean his premises thoroughly and remove all inflammable 
trash. School children are instructed as to the dangers aris- 
ing from defective electric wiring, or from ashes which may 
contain live coals, or similar causes of combustion. Per- 
haps a number of pamphlets are prepared for school children 
of different grades, and are used in the schools as reading 
lessons, so that every pupil is given suitable instruction 
as to the dangers of fire and the methods of preventing it. 

By such means as these, great progress is being made in 
lowering the fire losses of many cities. It is to be hoped 
that education in such matters will soon become universal, 
and that everywhere laws will be passed imposing heavy 
penalties upon persons whose carelessness exposes their com- 
munity to the risk of destruction by fire. We may then ex- 
pect to see our fire losses reduced to a very low figure and 
our cities made much safer from this terrible danger. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. How large is the fire department of your city? Are the mem- 
bers paid, or is it a volunteer organization? 

2. What fire-fighting apparatus and equipment does your city 
possess? 

3. Visit a fire-station and learn all you can about the city's 
methods of extinguishing fires. 



38 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

4. Obtain a copy of the building code of your city and learn the 
principal requirements laid down for buildings in the fire zone. 
What is meant by a fire zone? Why is it not necessary to make re- 
quirements quite so strict in regard to buildings on the outskirts 
of the city? 

5. Try to learn how much property in your city was destroyed 
by fire during the last year. 

6. How much of this fire loss was covered by insurance? See 
if you can think out the reason why it is a disadvantage to everyone 
when property is destroyed by fire, even though it is insured. 
(Suggestions: What will be the effect on insurance rates if there 
are many large fires? What will be the effect on prices if large 
quantities of goods are destroyed? Suppose the city's electric 
plant is destroyed by fire. What difference will this make, if the 
plant is insured?) 

7. Find out all you can about fire prevention, and write a report 
on this subject. 



CHAPTER VII 
MUNICIPAL HEALTH AND SANITATION 

Taking Pride in the Health Record. — Every modern city 
is interested in taking measures to keep its citizens in good 
health. It is now understood that, under ordinary circum- 
stances, a large number of cases of contagious disease and a 
high death rate are a disgrace to a city,- for they show that 
the sanitary conditions are not what they should be. No 
city wants a bad record in regard to such matters, and for 
this reason some kind of work for the benefit of public 
health is found practically everywhere. All communities, 
of course, do not have equally high standards in regard to 
public health activities. We shall examine the work done 
by the more advanced cities. 

Organization of the Health Department. — Generally we 
find a committee known as a board of health, which has 
authority to issue orders in regard to matters that concern 
the public health. Sometimes we find also a health com- 
missioner, whose work it is to enforce these orders; inspec- 
tors who must investigate conditions in various parts of the 
city, reporting instances where the orders of the board of 
health have been violated; and various other officers. 

The Sanitary Code. — Besides the orders issued from 
time to time by the board of health (or by the municipal 
health officer in some cities), we find in all advanced cities 
a set of regulations which everyone must obey, called a 
sanitary code. These rules oblige all persons to keep their 
premises free from filth and make many other useful re- 

39 



40 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

quirements. In some cities the health authorities enforce 
the sanitary code, while in others there are special sanitary 
authorities who have charge of this work. 

Quarantine. — Among the rules of the board of health in 
almost every city we find provisions for the control of 
disease. Persons suffering from certain contagious diseases 
must remain at home; and if the disease is of a serious 
nature, or if it is very contagious, nobody is allowed to enter 
or to leave the house where the patient is. When a house 
is placed under these restrictions, it is said to be under 
quarantine. Usually a large placard is placed upon it, 
giving the name of the disease from which an inmate is 
suffering. 

Care of Health in the Schools. — Other rules often made 
by boards of health (or by boards of education in some cases) 
require every pupil in the public schools to be vaccinated, 
and to be examined by school physicians once or twice a 
year. This is done in order that any serious trouble may be 
discovered in its early stages, while it can still be cured; and 
that any defects, such as poor vision, enlarged tonsils, or 
adenoids, may receive proper attention. In many cities 
the pupils are not only given these examinations from time 
to time, but are sent by their teachers to the school physi- 
cians whenever they seem to be ill. If the trouble is conta- 
gious, the child is sent home, and the board of health is 
notified, so that the home may be placed under quarantine. 
By these means it is nearly always possible to prevent the 
epidemics of contagious disease which used to be common 
in our schools. 

Sanitation in Connection with Food. — Boards of health 
make rules that persons who sell soda-water and ice cream, 
persons who keep restaurants, and all others engaged in 



MUNICIPAL HEALTH AND SANITATION 41 

similar trades must sterilize the dishes and silverware 
used by each customer. If this is properly done, any 
germs of contagious disease which are left on the dishes by a 
customer will be killed; while if his dishes are washed with 
others, but not sterilized, the germs may be distributed 
over the other dishes, and many other customers may con- 
tract the disease. For similar reasons, barbers are required 
to sterilize their combs, brushes, towels, and other imple- 
ments. 

Groceries, meat markets, dairies, and all places where 
food is sold must be kept in clean and sanitary condition. 
The food itself must be kept in such a way that no dust and 
dirt can reach it, and no flies or other insects can touch it. 

Sanitary Inspection of Public Buildings. — Tenements, 
theaters, factories, stores, and other places where many 
people gather together are carefully inspected by the 
health authorities, to see that they are in accordance with 
all the orders of the board of health and all the rules of the 
sanitary code. Everything about them must be clean; no 
filth must be allowed to remain; and any conditions which 
may be dangerous to health must be remedied. This is 
important for private houses, also, but it is particularly 
necessary in crowded buildings. 

Free Hospital Service.— In many cities the board of 
health is aided in its work by medical students, who are 
glad to gain experience by helping persons too poor to pay 
for the services of a doctor. Usually the best physicians 
in the city give some of their time to clinics, or classes, 
where patients may come and receive skilled treatment 
without charge. There are usually free hospitals in large 
cities, or free wards of hospitals in small cities, which will 
receive persons who are unable to pay for the particular 



42 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

care they need. A great many private charitable organ- 
izations are also ready to assist the board of health, by 
sending convalescent persons to the country or the seashore 
to regain their strength, and by other means. 

Health Campaigns. — Most boards of health do a good 
deal of educational work by means of newspaper articles, 
lectures, placards, and various advertising devices. In 
this way they teach the need of personal cleanliness and the 
value of sanitary surroundings. They show how babies 
should be fed, bathed, dressed, and treated in every way. 
They explain how contagious diseases spread and what 
measures must be taken to check them. They tell of the 
ways in which mosquitoes and flies spread disease, and 
encourage campaigns to stamp out these troublesome in- 
sects. 

Other Activities of the Board of Health. — In addition 
to all these activities and other similar ones, many boards of 
health collect statistics which are useful to them in their 
work. They try to keep records of all births, deaths, and 
cases of contagious disease which occur in the city. As we 
have already seen, the death rate and the disease rate help 
to show whether a city is in good sanitary condition or not. 
If a city finds these figures rising too much, the board of 
health usually institutes a ^^ clean-up campaign. ^^ When 
the birth of a child is registered, in some cities, a notice is 
sent to the mother telling her where to apply for advice and 
help in case she has any difficulty in keeping the baby well. 
Large numbers of babies die before they are a year old, 
just because their mothers are poor and ignorant and do not 
know how to care for them. By helping the mothers to 
learn proper methods of feeding and treating them, it has 
been found possible to save many little lives. 



MUNICIPAL HEALTH AND SANITATION 43 

Who Should Serve on the Board of Health. — Thus we 
see that the people of a city are doing an important work 
for their own health and safety when they estabhsh a board 
of health and give it authority to compel all persons to obey 
its rules. The best results are secured when physicians 
and other experts in health and sanitation serve on the 
board of health. If these cannot be obtained, however, 
any conscientious and able person who will accept a place 
on this board can render valuable services to his fellow 
citizens. Many of the most essential measures which must 
be taken to preserve the public health can be learned by any 
one of intelligence, through reading and observation. There 
are some things, naturally, which only an expert can fully 
understand; but no city need be discouraged if it cannot 
obtain highly trained members for its board of health, pro- 
vided that those who do serve are citizens of the best type. 
Everyone should co5perate with these officials in trying 
to make the city sanitary and as free as possible from con- 
tagious disease. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Who are the members of the board of health in your city? 
How are they chosen? 

2. What sanitary regulations are in force in your city? 

3. What are the ordinances in regard to the quarantine of 
contagious diseases? 

4. Is there a school physician, a school nurse, or any medical 
or sanitary inspection and supervision of students? 

5. Is any inspection made of grocery shops, restaurants, dairies, 
and similar places? Try to secure reports made by inspectors. 
What measures have been taken to bring about improvements 
where these were necessary? 

6. Does any officer in your city or county collect statistics in 



44 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

regard to disease, deaths, and births? Try to secure these statistics 
for the past year. 

7. How many deaths were there to each thousand of the popu- 
lation in your city last year? The death rate per thousand in New 
York City was between 12 and 13 for the year 1920. How does 
your city compare? 

8. Suggest ways in which the sanitary condition of your city 
could be improved. Has the city held a ^'clean-up campaign" 
recently? 

9. Are the school children organized to fight flies and mosqui- 
toes? Is adequate instruction in hygiene given in the schools? 
Are the schools sanitary and well ventilated? 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE WATER SUPPLY 

Need of an Ample Supply of Pure Water. — A very im- 
portant factor in public health is water. If a city is to be 
sanitary, there must be an ample supply of pure water, so 
that every person may bathe often, and every soiled article 
or dirty floor or street may be cleansed. In case of fire, 
too, a good supply of water is needed, with a pressure that 
will cause it to shoot many feet. There must not only be 
plenty of water in a city, but all that is used for drinking 
purposes must be free from disease germs and from im- 
purities of every kind, so that it will not be dangerous to 
health. For these reasons most cities today supply water 
to their residents, or else supervise carefully any private 
company which is allowed to undertake this work. 

Planning a Water System. — When a city is about to in- 
stall a system of waterworks, it tries to estimate how much 
water is used daily, and how much will probably be used 
in the future. For instance, if a dyeing establishment is 
about to be built, this will use many gallons of water. If 
a great factory is being constructed, and several hundred 
homes for workingmen are built near it, probably many 
persons will move into the city, and these will require a 
large supply of water. All these things are considered when 
the system of waterworks is planned. 

The next problem is: Where can this water be obtained? 
Lakes, rivers, artesian wells, and various other sources are 
used in different cities, according to local conditions. It is 

45 



46 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



sometimes difficult to find a source of water which will 
yield as much as the city needs. Quite often the source is 
many miles from the city. In this case it is likely to cost 
a good deal of money to lay pipes and make other arrange- 
ments for bringing the water where it is needed; but most 




This large dam was built to store up water for New York City. Though 
it forms a good-sized lake, the water held here is only a part of the city's 
total water supply. 



cities feel that the money must be spent, as an ample sup- 
ply of pure water is necessary to public welfare. 

Filtration of Water. — When a sufficient flow of water has 
been secured, the question arises whether it will need any 
special treatment or not. In many cases it will need to be 
filtered. By filtration such things as mud, bits of sticks, 



THE WATER SUPPLY 47 

leaves, and other impurities are removed, as well as many 
harmful bacteria. We see the effect of filtration whenever 
a housewife is making jelly. She pours into the jelly bag 
a muddy-looking liquid filled with pulp and seeds, and a 
beautiful clear juice comes out of the bag, while all the 
undesirable substances remain inside. We see the same 
sort of filter used for water, when a salt sack is tied over the 
nozzle of a pump. When a large supply of water is to be 
filtered, however, such a filter is not advisable, for numerous 
reasons. Large filters are usually made of fine clean sand, 
through which the water passes, leaving most of its im.- 
purities behind. 

Chemical Treatment of Water. — Sometimes dangerous 
bacteria remain even after the water has been filtered, and 
it is then necessary to destroy them. In order to do so, 
the water is given chemical treatment; that is, chemicals 
which will kill the bacteria without injuring the health of 
human beings are poured into the water before it is turned 
into the pipes that lead it through the city. It is rather 
difficult to treat water in this way without leaving some 
slight chemical flavor. However, those who use the water 
regularly soon become accustomed to this and cease to 
notice it. Of course, it is far better to have such water 
than to have tasteless water filled with harmful bacteria. 
It is better still, if possible, to secure water which does not 
need chemical treatment. 

Hard Water. — In some parts of the country, almost all 
available water is very hard. This means that it is filled 
with dissolved minerals, such as various kinds of alkali and 
other mineral substances. These substances were in the 
earth through which the water passed, and the water has 
retained a sufficient quantity of them to make it objec- 



48 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

tionable for many uses. Sometimes it is so hard that most 
soaps cannot make a good lather, and this makes difficulty 
when laundry work and cleaning are done. Sometimes the 
minerals are injurious to health, and often they make the 
skin tough, hard, and easily cracked. Occasionally, they 
kill plants which are regularly sprinkled with the hard 
water. 

It is very desirable to remove these minerals from the 
water, so far as possible. This can be done in various ways, 
according to the nature of the mineral. It is ordinarily 
done by adding to the water some chemical which will 
combine with the dissolved minerals and make a sub- 
stance that sinks to the bottom of the reservoir, leaving 
the water soft, or free from the minerals. The trouble and 
expense of doing this make it undesirable, as a rule, to soften 
water chemically, unless the materials which it contains are 
very objectionable. 

Expense of a Water Supply. — Even when water requires 
no treatment before it can be used, large sums of money are 
spent by the city in pumping stations, reservoirs, and equip- 
ment. This money is usually borrowed by the city, which 
must pay interest on it. The city must also lay aside some 
funds each year, so that the borrowed money can be repaid 
when it falls due. If the water must be filtered or treated 
chemically, the city will have the additional expense of con- 
structing filtration plants or other apparatus. The men 
who work at the city^s water plant must be paid. For these 
and other reasons, the city finds it necessary to make a 
charge for its water. Sometimes meters are installed, which 
show just how much water is drawn out; and each household 
pays for the water actually used by it. In other cases a 
*^flat rate '^ is charged, of so many dollars a year for each 



THE WATER SUPPLY 49 

faucet in a building. Whatever method it may use, the 
city must charge enough to meet all expenses. 

Preventing the Waste of Water. — Since water is costly, 
it ought not to be wasted; yet in every city a surprising 
quantity of water is allowed to run away daily, without 
doing the slightest good to anyone. As the result of a two- 
year campaign against water waste in Buffalo, New York, 
the average daily waste was reduced 50,000,000 gallons; but 
even then there was still a waste of 200,000,000 gallons per 
day. It is very common to see in public buildings, and even 
in private homes, leaking faucets which allow many gallons 
of water to trickle into waste pipes. Why should the city 
go to the expense and trouble of supplying water, if it is 
simply to be wasted? Why should customers pay for water 
which they do not use? It is better for everyone concerned, 
when water is used carefully, and leaks and other causes 
of waste are prevented. 

Children, as well as grown people, can do much toward 
lowering water bills and saving the city needless labor and 
expense. One step in the right direction is to develop a 
habit of turning off all faucets carefully, instead of allowing 
a thin stream of water to flow, as is often done. Another 
step is to inform the proper person at once when a leak is 
noticed anywhere. If a water main bursts in the street, 
the superintendent of the city water works should be notified 
immediately. By such means as these, a great deal of water 
can be saved. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Where does your city obtain its water supply? 

2. What processes, if any, are employed in order to make the 
water safe for general use? When was your city water last exam- 
ined by the state board of health? What was its report? 



50 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

3. Is your water as pure, clear, and soft as can be obtained in 
your locality? Is there a plentiful supply? If not, what meas- 
ures can be taken to increase the supply? 

4. What system of paying for water is used in your city? 

5. Obtain the latest yearly report of the v^ater works, and see 
whether the price of water sold to consumers pays for the cost 
of operation. Is there a profit made? If so, how much? 

6. From the report of the waterworks, learn how many gallons 
of water were pumped or otherwise obtained by the waterworks 
plant during the year. How many gallons were sold to customers 
and supplied to the city? How many gallons are not accounted 
for? What has happened to those gallons of water? 

7. Are there any defective water mains in your city? If water 
is lost from these, what difference does it make to the public? 



CHAPTER IX 
DISPOSAL OF WASTE 

Why Waste Must Be Removed. — No city can be sanitary 
unless its garbage, rubbish, sewage, and other waste ma- 
terials are disposed of in a proper manner. When we read 
about the cities of the Middle Ages, we learn that garbage 
was simply thrown into the streets and allowed to decay 
there, while every kind of filth was abundant in the gutters. 
It is no wonder that plagues swept over such cities. Today 
we understand that it is essential to public health that waste 
materials shall be removed from a city. 

There are, of course, other reasons why this removal is 
necessary. There would be great danger of fire if all the 
newspapers, wrapping papers, and various inflammable 
materials discarded every day were allowed to accumulate. 
It would be almost impossible to find room for ashes and 
other bulky substances in the yards of ordinary city dwell- 
ings; and they would be a great inconvenience, even if 
there were enough space for them. 

Why the City Removes Waste. — In some of our smaller 
cities it is customary for each household to make individual 
arrangements with a teamster to carry away waste mate- 
rials. This is a very unsatisfactory arrangement in any 
case, and particularly in the case of a closely built city. 
Garbage ought to be removed daily, especially in summer; 
many other kinds of trash should be taken away as soon as 
they accumulate; and sewage should be washed into sewer 
pipes immediately. Since very few persons can afford to 

51 



52 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

hire men to carry off garbage and other waste daily, or to 
build a private sewer system, many cities undertake these 
enterprises. This is another example of the way in which 
government is employed by the people to do the work in 
which all are interested. 

Disposal of Waste. — When a city collects garbage, ashes, 
and trash, what does it do with them? This depends on 
many things, such as the size of the city, its location, the 
kind of land on which it is located, and the nature of the 
country surrounding it. If the city is small, all the ma- 
terials may be simply dumped at some distance outside. 
It often happens that the man who is hired by the city to 
carry away the trash keeps the garbage separated from the 
other materials and feeds it to hggs. 

Reduction of Garbage. — Very large cities sometimes sell 
their garbage to men who feed it to hogs or else ^^ reduce 
it ^^; that is, separate it and change it into useful materials. 
When a man buys several tons of garbage daily, he often 
heats it and presses out all the liquid, a good deal of which 
is grease. This grease is saved and used for making axle 
grease or some other useful substance, which can be sold at a 
profit. The remainder of the garbage may be used for 
making fertilizer. Some cities have their own reduction 
plants, so that the income from the reduced garbage can 
be used toward paying the expenses of carting it away. 
The city of Cleveland, in Ohio, receives a large sum each 
year from the sale of products obtained from reduced 
garbage. 

Garbage, Buried, Emptied into Water, or Burned. — In 
cities near the coast, garbage is sometimes loaded on flat 
boats, towed out to sea, and emptied into the water, so far 
away that it is not likely to float back to the shore. Some 



DISPOSAL OF WASTE 53 

cities have garbage buried, and others use it to fill low areas. 
If these areas are far from houses and on the extreme out- 
skirts of the city, and if the garbage is well covered with 
earth, there is not much objection to this method of dis- 
posal, especially since the garbage will enrich the soil. Of 
course, this method cannot be used in built-up parts of the 
city. 

Some cities prefer to burn their garbage, in order to make 
sure that all poisonous decaying substances and germs of 
disease, which may be contained in it, will be destroyed. 
It is usually burned together with dry rubbish. Experi- 
ments have been made, with the idea of burning garbage 
and rubbish as fuel for running machinery. The mixture 
is usually so wet, however, that it burns slowly and gives 
off very little heat. Some attempts have been made, 
especially in English cities, to utilize it for steam-power; 
but these attempts have not been highly successful. 

Making Land from the Waste. — Street sweepings, ashes, 
and other trash of this kind are, as a rule, either taken away 
and dumped or used for filling low or swampy places. New 
York City has been using its ashes in this way for a long 
time with very satisfactory results. It is said to have added 
a million dollars^ worth of land to one piece of municipal 
property in ten years. 

By-Products from Dead Animals. — Dead animals are 
usually sold to some dealer, who tans the skin for leather, 
converts the bones into fertilizer or perhaps buttons, and 
employs the other parts for various useful purposes. 

Sorting and Destroying Rubbish. — Rubbish is a difficult 
thing to dispose of properly, as it contains so many different 
materials. Quite often it is simply dumped in a place 
where it will be out of the way. In a few cities, including 



54 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Buffalo, Boston, New York, and Washington, the rubbish 
is sorted before it is thrown away or destroyed. This sort- 
ing separates from the rubbish everything useful, such as 
rubber in all forms, tinfoil, tin cans and other metal objects, 
rags, paper, bottles, and many other things that can be 
sold and used in various ways. The city sometimes has its 
own employees to do the sorting. In this case the money 
obtained by selling the useful goods helps to pay the ex- 
penses of collecting the rubbish and disposing of it. Some- 
times the city sells to private citizens or firms the right 
to sort the rubbish and take whatever they wish. In either 
case the useless remainder is discarded, perhaps being carted 
off, perhaps being burned. 

Burning Rubbish. — Some persons claim that the sorting 
of rubbish is unsanitary and dangerous to public health. 
For this reason a few American cities burn their rubbish 
without sorting it. As in the case of garbage, various cities 
have attempted to make use of the heat obtained by burn- 
ing rubbish, but there is always so much non-combustible 
material in it that it is a very poor fuel, seldom giving off 
enough heat to be of much value. However, some cities 
have found that by installing modern devices they can burn 
a mixture of rubbish, garbage, and ashes and obtain a con- 
siderable amount of heat. 

Sanitation of First Importance. — When a city is deciding 
upon the best way for disposing of its garbage and rubbish, 
it must think first of sanitation and public health, then of 
convenience and expense. If it can find a sanitary, con- 
venient, and inexpensive way to dispose of its waste mate- 
rials, it is fortunate. If it cannot do so, it must at least use 
a sanitary method, even though this may be somewhat ex- 
pensive, for public health must be preserved. 



DISPOSAL OF WASTE 55 

The Sewage System. — Important as it is for cities to 
dispose of garbage and rubbish properly, it is even more 
important that they adopt correct measures for dis- 
posing of sewage, as sewage has been found to be a great 
menace to pubhc health. Many epidemics of typhoid 
have been caused by unsanitary methods of sewage dis- 
posal. For this reason even very small cities usually install 
systems of sewers, and all larger ones do so. 

Sewage is washed into waste pipes connected with the 
various buildings of a city; then into larger pipes or main 
pipes, commonly called mains. These mains empty into 
a very large pipe called a trunk, which leads out to the place 
where the sewage is finally disposed of. 

Sewage Emptied into River or Sea. — The problem of 
disposing of sewage in a satisfactory way is sometimes 
difficult. If a city is located near a river, and the river is 
not used to supply drinking water, either to the city itself 
or other communities farther down the river, then the trunk 
pipe may empty the sewage into the stream, and it will be 
washed away. As the United States is being settled more 
thickly, and cities and towns are growing up close together, 
it is very seldom that this method of sewage disposal can 
be used safely. Much the same thing is true of emptying 
sewage into the sea, which used to be the custom of towns 
located on the coast. Of course sea water is not used for 
drinking purposes; but the oysters, clams, and other shell- 
fish found near the shore are used for food. It has been dis- 
covered that unless the sewage is emptied at a long distance 
from the shore, it will pollute these shellfish and make them 
carriers of disease germs. Sewage floating near the' shore 
is also a great nuisance to bathers. 

If a city cannot find a suitable place in which to empty 



56 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

sewage, just as it comes from the pipes, it must face the 
problem of adopting some other method of disposal. In 
European countries sewage is often sprinkled over farm 
land as fertilizer, but this practice has not gained favor in 
the United States, though a few cities have made experi- 
ments in this direction. 

Other Methods of Sewage Disposal. — A much more 
common custom here is to pass the sewage through screens, 
which catch the solid part and let the liquid part flow past. 
The solid part is gathered from time to time and buried, 
burned, or otherwise disposed of. The liquid part may be 
filtered in order to purify it, or it may be treated with 
chemicals which will kill germs of disease. If a very large 
body of water is available, the liquid sewage is sometimes 
allowed to flow into this water, just as it comes past the 
screen. This is a safe method if there is enough water in 
the stream or lake to dilute the sewage until there are only 
a few germs to each gallon of water; but even so, this method 
should not be used if drinking water is drawn within some 
miles of the sewer outlet. If that is the case, the liquid 
sewage must be purified by filters or chemicals. 

Sanitary engineers and chemists are continually working 
out new and improved methods of treating sewage. Some 
of these methods employ beneficial bacteria which break 
up the solid parts of the sewage, and some are based upon 
the action of chemicals. Various methods, too complicated 
to be described here, are being tried in various cities, with 
encouraging results. Probably it will not be long before 
every city will be able to treat its sewage in a modern and 
improved manner which will make it pure and safe. 

Disposal of Rainwater. — Some cities allow rainwater to 
flow into their sewer mains, while others build separate 



DISPOSAL OF WASTE 57 

systems of storm sewers to carry off rain and melted snow. 
If the sewer mains are not very large, and the city is located 
in a region where showers are heavy and swift, the separate 
system is preferable. This method is desirable, also, when 
the sewage is treated with expensive chemicals. In this case 
it may be cheaper, in the long run, to build separate storm 



z^^:^x 





One method of piirifving sewage. At ColurnhTis, Ohio, liquid sewage is 
forced through the "trickHng fiiter " shown here, and the sun and air help 
in the work of purifying it. 

sewers, rather than to buy all the chemicals month after 
month, and year after year, that will be needed to purifj'- 
millions of extra gallons of diluted sewage. This question 
of separate pipes for rainwater is one that each city must 
decide for itself, according to local conditions. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Has your city a sanitary system of garbage disposal? If so, 
describe it. If not, tell what methods are employed by private 
families. Are these methods sanitary? 

2. Are garbage, stable waste, and other decaying substances 



58 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

allowed to lie where they can serve as breeding places for flies? 
If so, what measures should be taken? 

3. Is rubbish collected by your city? If so, how often? 

4. Do tin cans lie where they can collect rainwater and serve as 
breeding places for mosquitoes? Mosquitoes carry yellow fever 
and malaria. Is there any yellow fever or malaria in your city? 
What other breeding places, besides tin cans, may mosquitoes 
find there? What can be done about these conditions? 

5. If your city collects rubbish, is its final disposal sanitary 
and generally satisfactory? 

6. Has your city a modern sanitary sewer system? Is con- 
nection with this system required of every property owner? If 
not, what means are taken to insure sanitary premises everywhere? 

7. What are the ordinary conditions of rainfall in your part of 
the country? Is the drainage system of your city sufficient to 
carry rainwater off rapidly, or are there parts of the city where water 
may stand for some time? What improvements might be made 
in the drainage system? 



CHAPTER X 
EDUCATION; THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Why We Believe in Universal Education. — One of the 
most important parts of* the city^s business is providing 
education. Not only the city, but the larger divisions of 
government, such as county, state, and nation, take a direct 
or indirect part in this great work. It is the ambition of 
all true Americans to see that every boy and girl, man and 
woman, in the entire country, has at least an elementary 
education. 

Why is this true? It is because we believe in self-govern- 
ment, and we know that only educated people can really 
govern themselves. If people are ignorant and unable to 
learn the truth about public questions, they will believe 
anything they are told, and will vote just as they are per- 
suaded to do by others. In this way they may be deceived 
and led to vote for men who will not govern them properly. 
The only way to be sure that people will not be led astray 
by falsehoods is to educate them, so that they can study 
public questions for themselves. 

There are many other reasons why we believe in universal 
education. Educated persons are better able to support 
themselves than uneducated ones. Much of the money 
spent in providing public schools will be saved later, because 
few educated persons will need to be supported by charity. 
Education also lessens crime. When a man can make a 
good living, he is less likely to enter a life of crime than if, 
through ignorance, he does not know how to supply his 

59 



60 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

needs by honest work. Thus we see that money spent on 
education means money saved on prisons and similar 
institutions. 

The Course of Study. — In various cities the pubHc school 
courses of study differ a good deal, owing partly to state 
laws, and partly to the particular needs of the individual 
cities. Nearly everywhere, however, the following subjects 
are studied: 
Reading and writing ^ so that each person can express his own 

thoughts to others, and learn their thoughts. 
Arithmetic J so that the student may learn to manage his own 

business affairs. 
Geography, so that he will know about the other people and 

nations of the world, the splendors of natural scenery, 

the various products of the earth and the way in which 

they are distributed, and many other things. 
History and government, so that he will understand the 

lessons which can be learned from the past, the meaning 

of our own national ideals, and the duties of a citizen. 
Hygiene and sanitation , so that each one will know how to 

keep himself in good health and how to secure healthful 

surroundings. 
Physical education and manual training, so that the student 

may learn to control his body and make it carry out 

the ideas of his mind. 
Nature study and science, in order to teach him to enjoy the 

wonders of nature and to understand its laws. 
Literature, art, and music, so that each person will be able 

to enjoy beautiful things. 
Compulsory Education. — If every child in the United 
States were taught these subjects in the school course of 
study, we should soon build up a nation of happy, useful, 



EDUCATION; THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 61 

intelligent citizens. In our larger cities the greatest pains 
are taken to see that all children of school age are receiving 
an education. Truant officers are appointed to enforce the 
laws compelling parents to send children to school. It 
used to be considered the privilege of fathers and mothers 
to keep their children out of school if they desired to do so, 
but pubhc opinion has changed on this point. Now it is 
believed that no parents have the right to let their children 
grow up in ignorance. The idea of compulsory education 
is spreading rapidly, and probably it will not be many years 
before every child in the country is a regular attendant at 
school. 

The High Schools. — The subjects which we have just 
discussed are, of course, those taught in the grade schools 
or elementary schools. Most cities provide high schools 
for all students who wish to take up more advanced work. 
The courses given in high schools differ even more than 
those given in elementary schools. Small cities may be 
able to offer only a few courses, while larger ones can permit 
the students to choose among a great many. Ordinarily, 
the high school offers work in one or more foreign languages 
as well as in English literature and composition, mathe- 
matics, history, and science. Some high schools offer man- 
ual training and domestic science, some offer bookkeeping 
and stenography, and a few offer training for trades and 
occupations. Each city decides upon these courses accord- 
ing to its wealth, its principal industries, the needs of its 
students, and other considerations. 

School Buildings. — Most of our American cities take a 
great interest in their school buildings, which are usually 
very good. It is becoming customary to place new school- 
houses in beautiful surroundings, if possible, and to decorate 



62 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

them artistically, so that the students may feel pleasure and 
pride in their schools. Our cities are growing so rapidly 
that the schools are often overcrowded, and undesirable 
old buildings must sometimes be used for lack of room; 
but most cities are trying to overcome this condition, and 
to send every child to a roomy, sanitary, artistic school 
building. 

The School Board. — The schools are managed by a com- 
mittee known as a school board or a board of education. 
This board selects superintendents, teachers, and other 
school officials, decides upon their salaries, makes general 
rules in reference to matters of discipline and various school 
problems, and performs other duties, according to the pow- 
ers given to local school boards by state law. 

State Control of the Schools. — We have spoken of the 
city's schools, but we must not forget that all schools are 
partly under the control of the state, which may prescribe 
certain subjects of instruction, a certain length of term, 
and other requirements. The state not only supervises 
local schools, but assists them financially, as a rule; for, 
as we have seen, all branches of government are interested 
in securing universal education. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Give all the reasons that you can for the statement that 
education is necessary to the best type of citizenship. 

2. What subjects are studied in the primary schools and the 
grammar schools of your own city or town? What is the use of 
each subject? 

3. Is school attendance required by a law of your state or by 
an ordinance of your city, or by both? How is this law or ordinance 
enforced? 



EDUCATION; THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 63 

4. Give reasons why compulsory education is becoming quite 
general. 

5. Find out what courses are offered in the high schools of your 
city. Are any of these courses selected particularly to meet some 
need of the locality? 

6. How many school buildings does your city possess? Are 
these all in good condition? Have they pleasant surroundings? 

7. Describe any especially interesting features of your public 
school system. 

8. Write a few paragraphs on the value of education in a de- 
mocracy. 



CHAPTER XI 
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 

Normal Schools, Vocational Schools, and Colleges. — In 

many cities we find not only the regular public schools, but 
various special schools. Some large cities, such as New 
York, Toledo, and Omaha, have municipal colleges or uni- 
versities; and a number of cities have normal schools for 
the training of teachers. Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and 
many other cities have special vocational high schools, where 
a student may learn a trade at the same time that he is 
securing a good secondary education. 

Special Classes for Individual Instruction. — Most of 
our larger cities have special classes for backward pupils. 
These classes are very small, so that each pupil can have 
individual attention from the teacher. Sometimes a few 
months of special attention will help a backward child to 
understand the school work so well that he can return to 
the regular classes. Even where this is not the case, it has 
been found that such children do better work and are much 
happier in special classes than in regular ones. 

Schools or classes for the blind, the deaf, and other handi- 
capped children are found in a few cities, though usually 
these persons are cared for by the state. 

Night Schools. — Many cities have special night schools 
for adults and for young people who have been compelled 
to leave the regular public schools in order to go to work. 
A large number of subjects are taught in these schools. 
They offer the ordinary graded courses for the benefit of 

64 



SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 



65 



those whose early education was neglected. In addition, 
they usually offer bookkeeping, typewriting, stenography, 
and other business subjects; and sometimes they give com- 
plete high school courses. There are also a few night 




A class of school children having a lesson in a Natural History Museum. 
Nature study is easy and interesting when it can be studied in this way, 

schools which offer college courses, law, and other advanced 
work. 

Americanizing the Foreign-born. — Even before the great 
World War, some of our cities were conducting special 
classes for foreign-born citizens. The war has shown us how 
necessary it is to make sure that every immigrant who 
settles in the United States shall become a loyal citizen. 
One of the first steps toward this is to teach everyone to 
speak, read, and write the EngHsh language. This will 



66 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

make him feel that he is a member of our nation, and will 
also make it easy for him to learn why the United States is 
worthy of his loyalty. For this reason many cities, even 
quite small ones, are now conducting Americanization 
classes for the benefit of the foreign-born. 

Libraries and Museums. — Schools and classes are not 
the only means by which the modern city educates its 
citizens. Nearly all cities, except the very smallest, have 
public libraries, where anyone can go to secure information 
on many topics, as well as books to read for pleasure. Many 
cities have museums and collections of various sorts, such 
as natural history museums, historical collections, and other 
valuable material. Frequently the city maintains a zoologi- 
cal garden or park, in order to enable everyone to study 
the appearance and habits of many animals. 

Free Lectures and Concerts; Exhibits. — Some cities 
give free lectures on current topics, art, literature, and other 
important subjects. The city often provides free music, in 
the form of band concerts and other performances. One 
who wishes to obtain a musical education can benefit greatly 
by attending these concerts, as the best classical music is 
usually selected for at least a part of the program. 

Another great educational work done by modern cities 
takes the form of special exhibits. Posters, pictures, models, 
and instructive objects in regard to a topic such as Child 
Welfare or How to Prevent Tuberculosis are arranged in 
a public place, and citizens are urged to inspect them. One 
hour spent at such an exhibit will usually teach a person 
more than he could ordinarily learn in ten hours from 
books. 

Thus we see that the modern city is doing all in its power 
to educate every citizen. 



SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 67 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

L Try to learn something from books and magazines concerning 
municipal colleges, universities, and normal schools. 

2. Get information also in respect to the special ^^shopwork '^ 
high school courses and other vocational courses offered in Cin- 
cinnati and elsewhere. 

3. What special schools or special classes for backward or trouble- 
some children does your city have? Find out all that you can about 
these, and report to the class. 

4. Does your city hold any free night schools, Americanization 
classes, and similar schools for the benefit of adults? Why should 
a city try to educate adults? 

5. Is there a public library in your city? How is it managed? 
Is it used by many persons? Do you use it? 

6. Are there museums or collections of any kind? Do you visit 
them? 

7. Does your city provide lecture courses and musical programs? 
Do you attend any of these? 

8. What educational exhibits have been held in your city recently? 
What did you learn from these? 



CHAPTER XII 
RECREATION AND WELFARE 

Why Recreation Grounds Are Important. — It is now 

understood that by supplying opportunities for recreation, 
a city can do a great deal to prevent crime. Boys especially 
need the excitement and activity that they find in sports 
and athletic exercise, and if such opportunities are provided, 
they are less likely to be tempted to gamble and steal. For 
this reason, and also because the public health is improved 
when many persons take outdoor exercise, most of our cities 
are providing places of recreation. 

Opportunities for Sport and Amusement. — Even the 
small cities usually have parks, where it is pleasant to walk 
or to sit and enjoy the fresh air. The parks of our larger 
cities are often quite wonderful. They sometimes cover 
several square miles, and are planted with rare bushes and 
trees and with beds of beautiful flowers. Frequently they 
contain tennis courts, golf links, baseball and football fields, 
and similar spaces for play. Thoughtful people believe that 
it is not wise to spend too much money on these large parks, 
however, as many small parks scattered through the city 
will be easier for children to reach than one large one on the 
outskirts. 

Cities located near large bodies of water usually provide 
bathing beaches, bath houses, and recreation piers. Inland 
cities often build public baths and swimming pools. Public 
dance halls, roller skating rinks, and ice skating rinks and 
ponds are all found in many cities. Music, moving pictures, 

68 



RECREATION AND WELFARE 69 

lectures, and various entertainments provided by the city 
are not only educational, but are a much appreciated form 
of recreation. 

Community Centers. — It is becoming customary to use 
school buildings or other public buildings as community 
social centers. A community center is a place where social 
events of interest to a whole neighborhood may take 
place. Clubs of various kinds meet here, entertainments 
are given, meetings are held to discuss interesting questions, 
and other things are done which draw the people of a neigh- 
borhood closer together and make them more friendly 
and more willing to cooperate in helpful undertakings. 

Public Playgrounds. — School grounds and other places 
are often used as public playgrounds. Usually they contain 
sand piles, sliding boards, see-saws, swings, horizontal bars, 
and other helps toward interesting play. Wherever possible, 
a supervisor is placed in charge of a playground, so that he 
may prevent trouble among the children, may see that large 
and selfish children do not monopolize all the apparatus, 
and may teach new games. These playgrounds are growing 
in popularity, as busy mothers are often very glad to be 
able to send their little children to a safe place where they 
can enjoy themselves. 

Control of Objectionable Amusements. — We have seen 
that places for recreation are a help in preventing crime; 
but there are other measures taken by nearly all cities to 
lessen temptation. Strict rules are made that all theaters, 
moving-picture houses, and other places of entertainment 
shall not display objectionable scenes. Though these ordi- 
nances are not always enforced as strictly as might be de- 
sired, they do a great deal toward preventing representa- 
tions of vicious and criminal conduct, which would set a 



70 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

bad example. Gambling and other objectionable practices 
are forbidden in almost every city. 

Measures to Secure Comfort and Happiness. — There 
are many other things done by modern cities, not only to 
lessen crime, but to make the city a good place in which to 
live. 

Some cities provide employment bureaus, which try to 
find positions for all men or women who wish work. Some 
provide low rates on trolleys and other» conveyances for the 
benefit of factory workers, school children, and others. 
Some provide public laundries,, where for a few cents, or 
perhaps for nothing, women may have the use of tubs 
and plenty of hot water, so that they can wash their clothes 
properly. Many cities provide municipal markets, where 
farmers may bring their fresh vegetables and other products, 
and sell them directly to those who wish to use them. Free 
day nurseries, where little children are cared for properly 
instead of being neglected while their mothers are at work, 
are quite common in large municipalities. 

As time passes, people are insisting upon more and more 
service from their city governments. They realize that the 
best way in which to secure good living conditions and a 
happy life for everyone is through public cooperation; 
that is, through government. No one man can make a 
city sanitary, moral, and pleasant; but all the citizens 
together, by putting good and able men into public offices, 
can make their city whatever they desire it to be. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1 . How many parks has your city? Are these parks well supplied 
with seats? Are they planted with grass, trees, and flowers? 
Are they kept in good condition? 



RECREATION AND WELFARE 71 

2. What opportunities for play and recreation do the parks 
supply? Do many people use these opportunities for play? 

3. Are the parks located so that children in all parts of the city 
can reach them? Are there any playgrounds especially for chil- 
dren, either in parks or elsewhere? 

4. What other opportunities for recreation does your city pro- 
vide? Has it a swimming pool, a lake, or some other body of 
water which the public can enjoy? 

5. Are social gatherings or other meetings held in your school- 
houses outside of school hours? How are your school buildings 
used to help the entire community? 

6. Are the laws against gambling strictly enforced in your city? 

7. What city ordinances have been passed for the protection 
of morals and the benefit of the community? 

8. Learn of all the different things that your city is doing for 
moral and social welfare. What additional enterprises do you 
think it might undertake? 



CHAPTER XIII 
CITY ORGANIZATION; THE MAYOR-COUNCIL PLAN 

Organization of City Governments. — We have seen, in 
the early chapters of this book, that people must form an 
organization and select necessary officers, when they in- 
tend to work together. Since the modern city does all the 
various kinds of work that we have studied and many others, 
it must be organized — that is, planned and arranged very 
carefully — and must have a large number of officers. We 
cannot study all the details of the way in which city govern- 
ments are organized, nor can we learn about the work of 
every person employed by them, as many large books would 
be needed to describe these things fully. However, we shall 
look briefly at the principal plans for organizing city govern- 
ments, and learn the chief officials required under each 
plan. 

Laws Governing the City. — Just as our athletic associa- 
tion or literary society must have a constitution, telling the 
objects of the society and arranging for officers, a city must 
have written laws, telling what work it may undertake, 
naming the chief officers it may select, and explaining other 
important points. These laws are sometimes made es- 
pecially for a particular city, in which case they are known 
as a charter; and sometimes they are made by state legis- 
latures, to govern all cities in the state except those which 
have charters. Whether a city is governed by a charter of 
its own or by general state laws, it is usually organized 

72 



CITY ORGANIZATION . 73 

according to one of three plans: the mayor-council plan, 
the commission plan, or the commission-manager plan. We 
shall examine each of these plans in turn. 

The Mayor-Council Plan. — For a long time nearly all 
cities in the United States were organized according to the 
mayor-council plan. This plan varies in different cities, 
but usually has the following characteristics. The city is 
divided into small districts known as wards, and the people 
in each ward elect a member of a committee known as the 
city council. A mayor is elected by the voters of the whole 
city. The council makes special rules and regulations for 
the city, known as ordinances. The mayor sees that these 
ordinances are enforced, and also that the city's work is 
carried on according to its charter, or according to state 
laws, if the city has no charter. 

The City Council and Other Officers. — The council often 
does more than make ordinances. Frequently its members 
are divided into committees, which supervise certain parts 
of the city's business. Thus, there may be a committee on 
health, a committee on streets, a committee on street light- 
ing, and so on. Each committee is expected to see that its 
own particular part of the city's work is done as well as 
possible. 

In addition to the mayor and councilmen, the city has 
many other officers, some of whom are elected, and some 
appointed. Among the elected officers we find, as a rule, the 
city treasurer, the auditor (whose duty it is to see that all 
accounts are correct and all expenditures are made accord- 
ing to law), the coroner, and various others. 

Difficulty of Securing Experienced Officials. — During 
recent years there has been considerable dissatisfaction 
with this form of city government. People have begun to 



74 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

believe that it is almost impossible for the councilmen to 
attend properly to the city^s business, for several reasons. 
One reason is that they nearly always have private business, 
which demands a good deal of their time. Another reason is 
that they are seldom trained in the kind of work which they 
try to do for the city. Thus, the chairman of the committee 
on health and sanitation may be a prosperous grocer, who 
hardly knows what public sanitation means and has no 
time to learn, because his own affairs keep him busy. 

Much the same thing is true in regard to the mayor. A 
mayor is usually elected for a short term of two, three, or 
four years. He cannot afford to neglect his own business 
too much, as he will need to earn his living when his term 
expires. As a result, he has so little time to devote to the 
city's work that it is not carried on as efficiently as it should 
be. Naturally, he learns by experience, and he has perhaps 
become an expert by the time his term ends. This knowl- 
edge does not help the city very much, however, for a new 
mayor is likely to be chosen for the next term, and the city 
is again governed by an inexperienced man. 

It might be much better if the same mayor and the same 
council were chosen year after year, provided they were all 
honest and capable men who would serve the city as well as 
they could. But this is not likely to happen in many cases, 
as all political parties want to take their turn at governing 
the city, and the parties which are out of power work hard 
to put their men in. It seems probable that, for many 
years to come, cities organized by the mayor-council plan 
will have inexperienced officials. 

Division of Responsibility. — Another objection often 
made to this plan is that, when the city's affairs are mis- 
managed, nobody knows whom to blame. Let us suppose 



CITY ORGANIZATION 75 

that the streets are badly Hghted, and that a committee 
of citizens is formed, to interview the mayor on the subject. 

^^I am sorry/^ he says, ^^but I have no power to help. 
My duties are to see that the laws are enforced; but I have 
nothing to do with street lighting. Mr. Jones, the council- 
man from the third ward, is the chairman of the committee 
on street lighting. I advise you to see him.'^ 

The citizens go to Mr. Jones, and he says, ^^Yes, I know 
the streets are badly lighted, but I can't help it. There are 
three of us on the committee, and the other two will not 
cooperate with me in trying to improve the service. YouM 
better see Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown.'' 

Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown are interviewed by the citi- 
zens' committee, and both tell this sort of story: ^^ We stand 
for progressive ideas, and if we could have things our way, 
you would see the city splendidly lighted. But Mr. Jones 
opposes everything we want; and as he is the chairman of 
the committee, he has more influence than we have, so we 
don't accomplish anything." 

By this time the citizens feel thoroughly puzzled and do 
not know where to lay the blame for poor service, or what 
measures to take to improve the service; for the responsi- 
bility seems to be divided among many persons. This 
division of responsibility is recognized as one of the chief 
faults of the mayor-council plan of city government. 

Of course there are many instances in which this form of 
government has been very successful. Occasionally a city 
recognizes the value of experience and elects the same 
mayor to office for several terms. Many small cities feel 
that they cannot afford to pay their officials, or to pay more 
than a small sum; and most of these prefer to continue the 
mayor-council plan of government rather than to change to 



76 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

a plan whose success depends upon the city^s ability to 
attract good men by salaries. One advantage which the 
mayor-council plan has above other forms of municipal 
government is the fact that everyone is familiar with it, as 
it has always been the standard form in this country. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

Find out whether your city is governed by a charter or by general 
state laws. Secure a copy of the charter or the laws, and obtain 
from them the answers to the following questions: 

1. Under what plan of government is your city organized? 

2. What officials are elected by the people? What are the 
duties of each official? 

3. What officials are given office in some other way than by 
election? How does each one obtain his position? What are the 
duties of each? 

4. What are the principal departments of work undertaken 
by your city? Who is at the head of each department? How much 
control over him do other officials have? (Remember that the 
power to grant money or to refuse it is an important kind of con- 
trol.) 

5. Write a brief statement explaining the mayor-council plan 
of city organization, its advantages and its disadvantages. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE COMMISSION AND THE COMMISSION- 
MANAGER PLANS 

Origin of Commission Government in Galveston. — 

Some years ago a great flood swept over the city of Galves- 
ton, Texas, destroying property of many kinds and killing 
about six thousand persons. A large number of pressing 
problems had to be faced at once, such as relieving destitute 
persons, cleaning up the wreckage, making the city sani- 
tary, and providing for rebuilding the ruined sections. The 
politicians who had been in power were not qualified to 
take charge of things in this great emergency, so it was 
decided to place the government of the city in the hands of 
a committee, or commission, of five members. 

After some legal difficulties were adjusted, Galveston 
found itself with a new charter. This charter provides that 
five men are to be elected from anywhere in the city, and 
not from any particular wards. Four of these commission- 
ers take charge of the city^s work, which is divided into 
these four departments: police and fire, streets and public 
property, waterworks and sewage, and finance and revenue. 
The fifth commissioner is the mayor. He does not have a 
department to manage, but he is expected to see that the 
other commissioners work together as well as possible, 
and to advise and help them all. These commissioners are 
paid to give all their time to the city^s work. 

Under this system of government, the city of Galveston 

77 



78 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



rose from its ruins with surprising speed and efficiency. 
Its government was so excellent that many other cities 
adopted similar charters (differing in certain points, of 
course), and people began to think the commission plan 
an almost perfect one. It was particularly praised because 




The City Hall in Galveston, Texas, which replaced the building 
destroyed by the flood in 1900. Here the experiments in the com- 
mission form of government have been worked out. 



it placed one commissioner, instead of a committee, at the 
head of each department of the city's business. 

Responsibility of Officials. — There are many arguments 
in favor of this plan of municipal organization. In the 
first place, some one man is responsible for every branch 
of city work. If the water that is furnished you b}^ the 
city is not pure, if it has little pressure, if your water bill 
is too high, you know to whom you may telephone or write 
about it. The commissioner cannot refer the matter to some 
committee of the council that will meet in three or four 



COMMISSION AND COMMISSION-MANAGER PLANS 79 

weeks perhaps, and that is too busy to see to it anyway. 
It is his business to see to it. He is paid to see to it, and all 
his time belongs to the city. He cannot shift his responsi- 
bility to someone else. 

Intelligent Voting. — In the second place, the government 
is so simple that every citizen can understand it. He does 
not have to vote for a long list of officers whom he knows 
nothing about, but simply for five men. It is entirely 
possible for a citizen to find out about the good and bad 
qualities of these few candidates and to make a choice that 
is based on knowledge. 

Business Methods. — In the third place, this commission 
plan makes business methods possible. Each commissioner 
has a certain definite amount of the work of the city as- 
signed to him, and he is responsible for seeing that his par- 
ticular activities are performed properly. He is paid enough 
so that he can afford to spend all his time on the city work, 
and most of the city charters require that he shall do so. 

Better City Oflicials. — Because the commissioners are 
paid fairly large salaries, are elected from a large district, 
and can be held responsible, the quality of city officials has 
been generally improved under the commission plan. 

Faults of the Commission Plan; Incompetent Men. — 
As time has passed, however, it has been seen that the com- 
mission plan has some faults. One of these is the same 
that we have observed in the mayor-council plan — the lack 
of experience and knowledge on the part of the commission- 
ers. Galveston^s ablest men were willing to serve on the 
commission in order to bring the city out of its ruins; but 
not all cities have been able to secure first-class business 
men as commissioners. It often happens that a man is 
given charge of a department in which the work is com- 



80 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

pletely unknown to him. Of course, it is rather hard to elect 
a man who is a good administrator. People vote for men be- 
cause they like them, because they know them well, or be- 
cause they can get some advantage from so doing. A man 
does not make a good city official simply because he is 
popular or is well-known. To manage a large department 
of the city, he should have training for such work, just as 
the manager of a private business should be trained. Many 
people think that the only way to secure trained men for 
such positions is to have them appointed instead of 
elected. • 

The Need of One Responsible Manager. — Other people 
object to this form of government because the five men 
elected may not be able to work together. They argue 
that in every business or organization you must have some 
one to direct all the others, if any large plan is to be carried 
out. It would be rather difficult to manage a ball team if 
three or four captains were elected. Each one would want 
to manage affairs in his own way, and as a result no one 
plan would be carried out. Several cities have found that 
when the five commissioners do not agree, some of the city^s 
work is almost sure to be done poorly. Suppose the com- 
missioners are planning the money which they will need for 
the year. The head of the department on waterworks and 
sewage says that he will need one hundred thousand dollars. 
Three commissioners are opposed to him, and since they 
are in the majority, they vote to place in the budget (that is, 
the plan of finances) just twenty-five thousand dollars. 
Of course the department will not be efficiently managed; 
yet the man who is in charge of it is really not to blame. 
Here again we find that it is difficult to know who is actually 
responsible for poor management. 



COMMISSION AND COMMISSION-MANAGER PLANS 81 

The Commission-Manager Plan. — With these things in 
mind, thinking people have tried to devise a system that 
would have all the good points of the commission plan and 
would avoid its faults. They have studied the methods of 
business men in order to secure ideas for managing public 
business, and have worked out a system of city government 
known as the commission-manager plan. 

Under this plan, a commission is elected which has the 
duty of selecting a good business man to manage the affairs 
of the city. The commissioners are not paid for their serv- 
ices, and no actual work of management is expected of 
them. They act very much as a board of education acts 
in selecting a superintendent of schools. The members of a 
board of education do not attempt to manage the schools; 
they leave that to the expert. Their duty is to select the 
best man available to take charge of the school system. 
When city commissioners select a manager for the city, 
they are expected to act on this same principle of choosing 
the most efficient man whom they can secure. They are not 
required to ask his religion or politics, or to select him from 
their own city; but they are required to find a man who 
understands public business and can manage it well. This 
man is paid a good salary, and is expected to earn it by see- 
ing that the city's work is done efficiently. 

The City Manager. — The city manager is given authority 
oyer all branches of the city's business (with a few excep- 
tions, such as education, which is customarily left in the 
hands of the school board). He has the right to appoint 
men to take charge of the various departments under 
his supervision, and to dismiss them if they do not 
meet his requirements. In fact, he acts just as the 
manager of a large private business would act. It is his 



82 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

duty to see that every branch of the work is put on a 
basis of efficiency. 

The cities which have adopted the commission-manager 
plan of government seem, on the whole, to be well pleased 
with it. Under this plan there is no doubt as to the person 
who is responsible if things go wrong. The manager knows 
that he cannot throw the blame on somebody else, so he 
does his very best to keep the city's work running smoothly. 
Since he is not chosen for political reasons, he is not likely 
to lose his position at each election; hence he does not need 
to spend most of his time on private business in order to 
have something to fall back upon when he is dismissed. 
He does not expect to be dismissed unless he manages the 
city poorly; so in order to hold his position, he will try hard 
to manage it well. He knows, also, that if he makes a suc- 
cess of his work, some other city will probably ask him to 
come and manage it, at an increased salary. 

Many cities claim that they are saving money under this 
plan of government, even though they pay their managers 
very large salaries. They say that the managers are han- 
dling the city's business so carefully that wastes and mistakes 
are prevented, and in many cases the managers have 
saved more money than they are paid. 

Responsibility of the Public. — For all these reasons, the 
commission-manager plan is rapidly growing in favor, and 
more and more cities are adopting it. We must always 
remember, however, that no plan or method will work satis- 
factorily unless the people are constantly alert to see that 
they receive good service. Dishonest men will try to be- 
come city managers, just as they apply for all public offices; 
and only continual watchfulness on the part of the pubhc 
will guard them against such persons. 



COMMISSION AND COMMISSION-MANAGER PLANS 83 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Go to a library and find an account of the Galveston dis- 
aster. Why was it impossible for an ordinary city government 
to handle this situation? 

2. Why are small committees, or even single individuals, often 
given complete control of affairs in times of great pubUc emergency? 

3. What advantages are claimed by advocates of the com- 
mission form of government over the mayor-council form? What 
faults can be found with the commission plan? 

4. Why is it important for the citizens to know who is responsible 
for each department of public business? 

5. Why does it sometimes happen that well-qualified men cannot 
secure election? 

6. What advantages are there in having the heads of business 
enterprises appointed instead of elected? 

7. Summarize the arguments in favor of the commission-manager 
plan of city government. Give arguments against this plan. 

8. What are the necessary qualifications of a good city manager? 



CHAPTER XV 
THE TOWNSHIP 

Townships in Colonial Times. — Townships are not found 
in every state, as the work which was formerly done by 
them is now often divided among other units of government. 
However, since they exist in many states, we shall briefly 
examine them and their work. 

The township is most important in New England, where it 
was established in colonial times. In those days villages 
were usually very small and were surrounded by farms. The 
people of one or more small villages and the inhabitants of 
the surrounding country used to organize townships (or 
towns, as they were often called), in order to carry on cer- 
tain kinds of public work. These townships contained 
from twenty to forty square miles, as a rule, and varied in 
shape according to the way in which the land had been 
settled. Many of the original townships remain today. 

The New England Town Meeting. — Once a year all the 
voters of the township would gather in the town hall to 
hold a town meeting. Here they decided upon such matters 
as the building of highways, the measures to be taken 
against the owners of straying cattle, and other problems of 
general interest. They also elected ofl^icers to carry out 
various functions. In the New England states these yearly 
town meetings are still held. As the cities have grown up, 
they have sometimes established governments of their own, 
which have no connection with township government. In 

84 



THE TOWNSHIP 85 

other cases, however, fairly large cities have preferred to 
retain the old custom of being controlled in many matters 
by the will of all the voters of the township; ^^The town 
of Brookline, Massachusetts, . . . has a population of 
over 20,000 and yet retains its primitive town government. 
Even New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, have con- 
tinued the town organization separate from the city gov- 
ernment/^ ^ The work of the township is quite important, 
including such things as highway construction, the build- 
ing of schools, the collection of taxes, the keeping of records, 
the enforcement of law and order, and a number of other 
matters. 

Officers of the Township. — The principal officers of a 
New England township are called selectmen. A board 
of selectmen is chosen each year at the town meeting to 
carry on the township business. At the same time other 
officers are chosen, such as the town treasurer; the town 
clerk, who acts as secretary at the t<3wn meetings, keeps 
records concerning births, deaths, and marriages, and per- 
forms other functions; constables, whose duty it is to pre- 
serve order and to make arrests when necessary; and (in 
most townships) justices of the peace, who try persons 
charged with small offenses. Some officers are elected, and 
some are appointed by the board of selectmen. Persons 
who have always lived in cities are amused to learn that 
nearly every township has an official known as a pound- 
keeper, whose duty it is to shut up straying animals, and 
to kill them or otherwise dispose of them unless their owners 
pay a fine; and another official known as a fence- viewer, 
who inspects boundary fences to see that they are in condi- 
tion to keep cattle and other animals in their proper place. 

1 Beard, Charles A.; American Government and Politics. 



86 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Townships Outside of New England. — In several states 
outside of New England the township exists, but little 
interest is taken in its affairs, and its functions, as a rule, 
are unimportant. In the Western and Southern states 
the township is seldom found, as the city and the county 
generally carry on all the work which is given to the town- 
ship in New England. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Are there townships in your state? If so, what work do they 
do? What officers have charge of the work? How are these officers 
given their positions? 

2. If there are no townships in your state, what division of gov- 
ernment is in charge of the work ordinarily done by them? 

3. Read in history books an account of the old New England 
town meeting. 

4. How have conditions changed so that the township is no 
longer so important as it was in colonial days and in the earlier 
days of our life as a nation? 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE COUNTY 

Functions of the County. — Every state in the Union 
is divided into districts called counties, with the exception 
of Louisiana, which uses the name parish instead of county. 
The county aids the state in many of its functions, and also 
carries on certain work of its own. County government 
and county functions vary so much from state to state that 
it is almost impossible to describe them in a brief space. 
The following paragraphs will explain the features most 
commonly found. 

Education. — Much of the state's educational work is 
carried on by the county. Special county officials, such as 
members of school boards and superintendents of schools, 
supervise the public schools, examine students who desire 
promotion into high schools, examine candidates for teach- 
ers' licenses, and attend to other educational matters. 

The Judicial System. — In many states there are county 
courts, county judges, and a county prosecuting attorney, 
whose duty it is to secure evidence against criminals and to 
appear before the court and try to have them brought to 
justice. 

Public Institutions and Highways. — County buildings, 
such as poorhouses, jails, asylums, and other institutions 
for relief, punishment, or special care, are constructed and 
maintained by the county authorities. Ordinarily the 
rehef of poor and destitute persons is a county function. 

87 



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THE COUNTY 89 

A large part of the construction and the care of highways is 
generally undertaken by the county. 

Collection of Taxes.— A very important part of the 
county^s work is the collecting of taxes. A tax is a sum of 
money charged by a government in order to meet its ex- 
penses. State taxes are generally collected by county officials. 

One of the most common taxes is the general property 
tax. An officer, called a county assessor, makes a list of all 
the taxable property in the county. The sum of money 
which must be raised by the property tax each year is 
decided upon. Then the total value of taxable propert}^ 
is divided into this sum in order to find the rate of taxa- 
tion; that is, the number of cents or mills per dollar ^s worth 
of property, which must be paid to the county. When the 
rate is found, the amount of each person^s taxable property 
is multiplied by the rate, and the product is the tax that he 
must pay. 

The property tax is collected by the county treasurer or 
his assistants. A part of it is paid over to the state, and 
the remainder is used toward the expenses of the county. 
In some states city taxes also are collected by the county. 
Other taxes are collected in various ways. 

The Election Board. — When elections are to be held, 
whether for state, county, or township officials (and some- 
times for municipal officials), a county election board usu- 
ally manages them; that is, sees to the printing of the ballots, 
the securing of polling places, the counting of the ballots, 
and other details. 

The Board of Commissioners. — Many county affairs 
are placed in the hands of a committee, generally known 
as the county board or county board of commissioners. 
This board decides upon the construction of roads, the 



90 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

appointment of various officials, and numerous other ques- 
tions. In some cases the county board has charge of county 
health work, while in others there is a special board of health. 

The Sheriff. — An important county official is the sheriff. 
He has many duties, including those of arresting lawbreak- 
ers, suppressing riots and disorders, taking charge of the 
county jail, selling the property of those who do not pay 
taxes or whose property is to be sold under order of a court, 
and enforcing various orders given by the courts. The 
sheriff often has assistants called deputies; and if he needs 
special help, he may call upon any or every citizen to aid 
him, and the persons thus summoned must obey. 

The County Clerk. — The records of county elections are 
often kept by a county clerk, who may also keep records of 
proceedings in county courts, lists of mortgages and deeds to 
real estate, and other valuable information. Sometimes a 
part of this work is done by other officers. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Why is it considered advisable to subdivide a state into 
counties? 

2. What kinds of work are done by the counties of your own 
state? Ask a lawyer or a county officer to visit the class and 
describe all the kinds of work done by your own county. 

3. What officials are placed in charge of the county work? 
Learn the names of the principal officials of your own county. 

4. Are the various kinds of county work performed in a satis- 
factory manner? Should there be improvements in any department? 

5. What powers over the construction of highways does your 
county possess? 

6. What are the powers of the board of health? Are these 
powers being used to the best advantage? 

7. Write a report on the topic, ''What my County is Doing.'^ 



STATE GOVERNMENTS 

CHAPTER XVII 

THE DEVELOPMENT AND WORK OF STATE 
GOVERNMENTS 

Why the State Government Is Needed. — After seeing 
how many kinds of work are done by local governments, 
we may be inclined to wonder why state governments are 
necessary. If we think carefully, however, we shall realize 
that no city or county can give all the protection that may 
be needed, or do all the things that must be done. Con- 
sequently, a larger governing body, such as the state, must 
undertake these things. 

Let us consider some examples which prove this need of a 
state government. Suppose a business man wishes to travel 
from his own city to another city in the state, two hundred 
miles away. While he is outside the boundaries of a city, 
who will protect him from being attacked by robbers? 
Who will see that there are good roads running from one city 
to another? Or suppose that a family living in the country 
must draw drinking water from a certain stream. Who 
will prevent other persons from emptying sewage into that 
stream? Again, suppose a little homeless child is found 
wandering along a roadside. Who will care for him and see 
that he is properly educated? 

The authority of local governments is limited to their 
own territory, and it would be impossible for them to take 

91 



92 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

action in the cases which we have just considered. To 
do these various kinds of work, a division of government 
is needed which has authority over a larger area. In our 
own country, this division is the state. 

Why Our Country Is Divided into States. — Some coun- 
tries are divided into districts of other kinds, instead of 
states. There is a historical reason why states exist here. 
As we all know, our nation was originally formed by the 
union of thirteen states. It seemed best that new territory, 
also, should be formed into states, rather than districts; 
so our nation is now composed of forty-eight states. 

Varying Sizes of the States. — Our states vary greatly 
in size. The state of Texas, for example, is considerably 
larger than the combined areas of France, Belgium, Swit- 
zerland, and the Netherlands; while Rhode Island is not 
much larger than a county in some of the large Western 
states. Whether small or large, the state performs many 
useful functions, some of which we shall examine later.. 

Powers of the States. — Before we go further in our study 
of the state, we must realize that its authority has certain 
limits. Just as the city has no authority outside its own 
boundaries, so the state has no power beyond its borders. 
Just as the state controls the city in some respects, so the 
national government controls the state in some respects. 
Here, however, we find an important difference which we 
must not forget. We have seen that the state gives powers 
to the city, either through laws or through a charter. But 
the national government does not give powers to the states. 
This is due to the fact that the original thirteen states were 
in existence before the federal government was set up. As 
independent states, they possessed all the powers that any 
free nation has, 



DEVELOPMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENTS 93 

When the people of these original states decided to 
set up a national government, they gave it some of their 
powers, but kept all the others. The powers which they 
gave to it were those which they thought could be exer- 
cised by a central government better than by individual 
states. For example, they gave the national government 
power to declare war, to provide an army and a navy, 
to regulate commerce among the states, and to do various 
other things which no state could very well undertake. 
All these powers were listed in the Constitution of the 
United States of America. In order to make sure that the 
national government would not take away other powers 
from the states, an amendment was soon added to the Con- 
stitution, providing that ^^The powers not delegated to the 
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it 
to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
the people. '' (Amendment X.) 

Except in the case of powers which have been especially 
given to the national government or prohibited to the states, 
we find that states have complete authority over their own 
territory. New York, Ohio, Nevada, and California may 
set up entirely different systems of public schools, may 
tax different kinds of property, and may have different 
laws in regard to the preservation of game, the rights of 
corporations, the compensation of workingmen for acci- 
dental injuries, and many other things. 

Though the state allows subdivisions such as the city, 
the township, and the county to do a good deal of work, 
there are many duties which the state cannot give to them 
and must carry on itself. In the following chapters we shall 
learn the most important of these diities. 



94 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Why is some larger division of government than the city, or 
even the county, needed? 

2. Explain how our states came into existence. 

3. How is authority divided between the state and its subdivi- 
sions? How is authority divided between state and nation? Ex- 
plain this difference. 

4. How does it happen that the laws of the various states differ 
so greatly? Do you consider this an advantage or a disadvantage? 
Explain your answer fully. 



1 



CHAPTER XVIII 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS 

The Constitution as the Fundamental Law. — ^We have 
already seen that when people are to undertake any work 
together, they must be guided by rules and regulations. 
Since the people in each state of our Union are doing a great 
deal of work through their state governments, they have 
written the general plan by which this work is to be done 
in a document known as a state constitution. 

Not all the laws of the state are placed in the constitution. 
It is merely a kind of outline making the rules which are 
considered most important, or, as we usually say, containing 
the fundamental law. Let us see what these important 
rules are. 

The Bill of Rights. — In every state constitution we find 
a bill of rights. This is a list of certain rights which shall 
belong to all citizens and shall not be taken from them by 
the legislature, by a judge in court, or by any other govern- 
mental agent. Thus, every state constitution says that 
citizens shall not be deprived of the right of free speech, of 
the right to be tried fairly when accused of crime, of the 
right to hold such religious views as they see fit, and of 
various other rights. 

Officers and Departments of Government. — The organi- 
zation of the state government is set forth in certain sec- 
tions in the constitution, which name the state officers (as 
governor, representatives, judges of various ranks, etc.), 

95 * 



96 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

tell how they shall be chosen for office, and explain the du- 
ties and the powers of each. State constitutions also organ- 
ize subdivisions of the state, such as counties and townships. 
Some constitutions explain the conditions under which 
communities may become cities and define the powers of 
cities. The constitution of every state in the Union, like 
that of the federal government, establishes three departr- 
ments and divides the work of government among them. 
They are called the legislative, the judicial, and the exec- 
utive departments. We shall learn presently the mean- 
ing of these terms, and the work given to each department. 

Elections. — Besides outlining the organization of govern- 
ment, the state constitutions usually provide for the way 
in which the people shall take part in public affairs. They 
name the qualifications of voters, sometimes tell what sys- 
tem of voting and what kind of ballot shall be used, and 
usually guarantee honest elections. The legislature always 
passes laws giving more details on all these points. 

Education and Social Welfare. — Most state constitu- 
tions contain sections providing for free public schools and 
other helps toward social welfare. In this case, as in many 
more, the details of such matters are left to the legislature. 

Regulation of Business. — In the earliest state constitu- 
tions we find no mention of the regulation of business, but 
in all modern ones there are sections providing for care- 
ful inspection and regulation of businesses of various kinds. 
The three business enterprises which practically every 
modern state constitution brings under government regu- 
lation are banking, insurance, and the railroad business. 
These are all recognized as businesses in which the public 
has a large interest. Many persons deposit money in sav- 
ings banks and pay for insurance; many persons own rail- 



STATE CONSTITUTIONS 97 

road stocks and bonds, and nearly everyone uses railroads. 
For these and other reasons, state constitutions generally 
provide that these important kinds of business shall be 
carefully regulated, so that the public may receive fair 
treatment. 

Taxation. — Since the work of the government is costly, 
state constitutions always contain sections dealing with 
financial problems. In order that the legislature may not 
be tempted to spend too much public money, most state 
constitutions place a limit upon its power to raise money by 
taxation. 

Often we find in these constitutions a provision that if 
the state is planning to undertake some unusual piece of 
work, such as the building of a great system of roads or the 
construction of canals, which will require the expenditure 
of large sums, the people of the state must be given an op- 
portunity to vote upon the matter. If they believe that the 
benefits which will come to them are worth more than the 
extra taxes they will have to pay, they will vote in favor of 
the proposition; if they think otherwise, they will vote 
against it. All the regulations in regard to state finances 
are intended to protect the people and to keep the state 
government working for them and not oppressing them. 

Amendments of the Constitution. — It is necessary from 
time to time that amendments be made in state constitu- 
tions, and all such constitutions provide methods by which 
they may be amended. In most cases they require a pro- 
posed amendment to be passed by two successive sessions of 
the legislature, after which it shall be voted upon by the 
people of the state. Thus, no change can be made hurriedly 
and carelessly; and no change can be made by the legisla- 
ture alone without consulting the people. Under ordinary 



.98 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

conditions this method of making amendments works well; 
but as it cannot be used in an emergency, some persons 
think that a quicker and easier method should be used. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What is a state constitution? Why does it not contain every 
law by which the people of the state are to be governed? 

2. Explain the meaning of bill of rights. Give reasons why such 
a bill is found in state constitutions. 

3. W^hy do our state constitutions provide for the people's part 
in public affairs? In a free country where the right to vote is wide- 
spread, why are any qualifications required before people are 
allowed to vote? 

4. Why do our most recently established state constitutions 
provide for the regulation of business, while earlier ones did not? 

5. Why are restrictions placed upon the financial powers of the 
legislature? Why are the people permitted to vote on extraordinary 
expenditures? 

6. Why is the amending process made difficult? Do you think 
it should be easier? Explain your answer. 



i 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE STATE AND ITS WORK 

Division of Work between State and City.^ — The state 
and the city often undertake the same kinds of work, but 
they do not do the same things. For instance, both city 
and state share in the task of providing pubhc schools; 
but the state acts chiefly as supervisor, while the city or 
some other division of local government does most of the 
actual work. However, the state itself often provides and 
maintains certain special schools, such as schools for the 
deaf and the blind, state universities, and state agricultural 
colleges. This is due to the facts that very few cities could 
afford such schools and that the students who attend them 
come from all parts of the state. 

The state shares other kinds of work with local govern- 
ments in much the same way. Thus, it supervises the con- 
struction of highways, the care of public health, and various 
other tasks performed by local governments. There are 
some things, too, which the state alone can do, and in which 
the local governments have no share. 

Important Functions of the State. — Among the many 
kinds of work undertaken by the state, some of the most 
important are as follows: the making of laws, the regula- 
tion of business, the providing of education, the care of 
special classes, the care of public health, and the adminis- 
tration of justice. Of these, the first one which we shall con- 
sider is the making of laws. 

99 



100 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Why We Have Laws. — We saw in the first chapter of this 
book that, just as an athletic association has to have rules 
to go by, so does every government. When we try to do 
things together, we have to make plans for doing them. For 
example, when we plan to build highways, we have to plan 
how much money will be spent, how the money will be 
raised, and who will have charge of the work. In case we 
borrow the money by selling bonds, we must make plans 
for repaying the loan. If the state establishes a university, 
it must likewise plan how it shall be managed. Such plans 
are usually made in the form of laws. 

Laws Regarding Personal Relationships. — We can readily 
see that there must be many kinds of laws besides those 
which involve the planning of work. Let us examine some 
of them. In the first place, we have laws or rules regulating 
certain human relationships, such as marriage and divorce. 
Before a man and a woman can be married, the law says that 
they must procure a license. This is a permit from the state 
to get married. This permit is required in order that the 
state may know who is responsible for the care of any children 
that they may have, who is entitled to receive property in 
case of the death of the parents, and for various other reasons. 

Laws Regarding Property. — We have many laws regard- 
ing property rights. These laws say what kind of things 
shall be property, how property shall be transferred from 
one person to another, what evidences shall be given that 
property has been transferred, who shall inherit property, 
and how property may be bequeathed. 

Thus, the laws may provide that certain kinds of game 
or wild animals shall not be the property of any individual, 
even the man on whose land they are found, and that they 
must not be killed or captured. On the other hand, it may 



THE STATE AND ITS WORK 101 

proAdde that a limited amount of certain game may be 
killed and shall be the property of the man who kills it; 
but at the same time the owner may be forbidden to sell the 
game, or to transfer it to another person except by giving it 
away. In case real estate is to be transferred, the law may 
require deeds to be signed by everyone concerned, so that 
there will be written evidence that the property has changed 
hands. Every state has laws regulating the making of wills, 
and laws naming the relatives who shall inherit property, if a 
person dies without leaving a will. We can easily see how 
necessary these property laws are. 

Laws Relating to Business. — Another large set of social 
rules or laws consists of those which help to create certain 
kinds of business organizations or else to regulate business. 
Let us examine some of these. Suppose that you deposit 
your money in a savings bank. You wish to know ab- 
solutely that you can get it again when you want it. But 
how do you know that the banker is not careless or dishon- 
est, so that when you ask him for your money, he will be 
unable to give it to you? If there were no laws regulating 
savings banks, this is just what might happen. Suppose, 
however, the state law says that no money placed in sa sw- 
ings banks can be invested by those banks in anything but 
United States government bonds, state bonds, or city bonds 
of certain sorts. Now these bonds, being backed by the 
whole national government, state government, or city gov- 
ernment, always are a good investment and always will sell 
for just about as much as their face value. They can 
alw^ays be sold very easily. Because of this regulation by 
the state regarding the kind of securities in which a sav- 
ings bank may invest, you are able to go to the bank at any 
time, after a few days' notice, and get your money, 



102 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



Laws to Protect the Citizens. — The state makes many 
laws in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare 

of its citizens. It 
may pass laws, for 
instance, prohibit- 
ing the selling of 
impure foods or 
milk, and the sell- 
ing of goods that 
are of short weight. 
It may say that 
cattle affected by 
certain diseases 
shall be dipped in 
a certain solution 
in order to free 
them from the dis- 
eases. It may say 
that no one shall 
be a railroad en- 
gineer unless he 
takes an examina- 

An inspector of weights and measures visiting . i. u* 

the public markets to test the correctness of the tlOn tO see that niS 
scales and measures used. There is a heavy fine for ci^r^o QT«p o-ood and 
attempting to cheat the consumer by using faulty ^ ^ ' 

scales. All condemned weights and measures are nO One shall prac- 
destroyed. .. t . 

tice medicme un- 
less he has taken certain studies or passed certain exam- 
inations. 

Every state has many laws defining various crimes, fel- 
onies, and misdemeanors, forbidding all persons to commit 
these acts, and fixing penalties for disobedience. 

In all these ways, therefore, the state passes laws for 




THE STATE AND ITS WORK 103 

the welfare of its citizens. It is the state, much more than 
either the national or the local governments, that makes 
laws regulating the everyday lives of its citizens. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Name as many kinds of work as you can which are shared 
by state and local governments. Explain the reason why this is 
true, in each case. 

2. Why are the laws of a state ordinarily more numerous and 
more complicated than those of a city? 

3. Name several enterprises that must be planned by the state. 
What would be the result if these were undertaken without care- 
ful plans? 

4. Give examples of laws in regard to property and the use of 
property. Why may not a person use his property exactly as he 
pleases? 

5. Why do the laws regulate very carefully the savings bank and 
insurance companies, which handle the money of a great many 
people and promise to repay it under certain conditions? 

6. Why are many crimes punished by the state rather than the 
city? 

7. Why are many laws in regard to health, safety, and general 
welfare made and enforced by the state? What would be the result 
if a city made laws in regard to contagious diseases, but no division 
of government made such laws to govern people living outside the 
city who came in on errands? 




104 



CHAPTER XX 
EDUCATION 

State Supervision of Schools. — As we already know, cities 
and school districts have direct charge of our public schools; 
but every state does more or less work in supervising, di- 
recting, and helping the local school authorities. 

It is rather difficult to describe this work, as it varies 
greatly from state to state. We may say, however, that in 
every state we find some person or persons with authority 
to inspect the work, of all public schools, map out courses 
of study, require reports, and give examinations. In some 
cases this authority is placed in the hands of a board of 
education or a board of regents; in other instances it be- 
longs to one person, such as a state superintendent of educa- 
tion; while occasionally we find both a board of education 
and a state superintendent. County superintendents of 
schools are often selected to supervise the work of the school 
districts, examine teachers, grant certificates to those who 
meet requirements, and perform many similar duties. 

Financial Aid from the State. — In most states the local 
school authorities have the legal right to decide the school 
problems; but in order to induce them to decide in favor of 
progressive methods, the state often gives special financial 
aid to schools which maintain a certain standard of work. 
For example, if a school is kept open for a given number of 
weeks during the year, if the textbooks used are approved 
by the state educational authorities, if the teachers are 

105 



106 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

properly qualified, and if various other requirements are 
met, the state pays to the local school board a certain 
amount of money. Most local school authorities are very 
willing to keep their schools up to the state standard in order 
to secure this financial help. 

Opportunities for Higher and Professional Education. — 
Many states maintain not only ordinary public schools, but 
normal schools, colleges, and universities, where instruction 
is given free of charge. State universities are more com- 
mon in the Western states than in the Eastern ones, owing 
to the fact that many long-established private colleges and 
universities are found in the East. 

The majority of state universities offer a wide variety of 
courses, including not only literature, science, mathematics, 
and languages, but many subjects which will enable stu- 
dents to prepare for a profession or a chosen life-work. At 
many of these universities students may prepare to be 
electrical or chemical engineers, pharmacists, dentists, 
physicians, or lawyers — to mention only a few possibilities. 

Agricultural Colleges. — A number of states maintain 
separate agricultural colleges, with experimental farms, 
herds of registered cattle, examples of improved farm ma- 
chinery, and the necessary buildings and apparatus for 
training students in every branch of modern scientific 
agriculture. Some of these colleges offer short courses of 
a few weeks arranged so that farmers can attend them at 
seasons when farm work is not pressing. The colleges 
occasionally send out lecturers and demonstrators to meet 
farmers who cannot spare even the few weeks needed for a 
short course, and to show them how to deal with a rust or a 
blight, how to treat certain diseases of cattle, how to test 
soil or seed, and various other things. Much of the wonder- 



EDUCATION 107. 

ful progress made by the American farmer since the. be- 
ginning of the twentieth century is due to the educational 
work carried on by our states. 

Inspection of Schools. — In the various states there are 
many different plans for inspecting and examining schools. 
High schools are often inspected by officials connected with 
the state university, so that the university can be sure that 
their preparation for higher work is sufficient; while the 
graded schools are inspected by county or state officials. 
The object of inspection is to see that all schools are doing 
the very best work possible. 

School Attendance. — Many states have laws requiring 
the schools to remain in session annually for a definite 
number of weeks. In most states, also, children of specified 
ages are required to attend school for a certain number of 
days each year. 

Thus we find that the state is opening to every citizen 
the great opportunity of receiving an education. Almost 
any bo}^ or girl of ambition can take advantage of this 
opportunity, and receive training that will mean a happy 
life, a useful occupation, a good income, and the power 
of serving state and nation as an intelligent citizen. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What authorities are in control of the work of education in 
your state? What are their powers and duties? 

2. What subdivisions, as counties and school districts, aid the 
state in its work? What officers are found in each subdivision? 
What are the duties of these officers? 

3. Under what conditions does your state give financial aid to 
local school districts? Make a list of the requirements for all 
schools receiving such aid. Does your own school meet these re- 
quirements, or surpass them? 



108 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

4. What colleges, universities, and normal schools are main- 
tained by your state? Send for catalogues from these, and describe 
the work done by each. 

5. Describe the system of school inspection used in your state. 

6. What laws are in force in your state as to the attendance of 
children at school? Do you think that conditions in your state 
are such that a longer attendance should be required? Give 
reasons for your answer. 

7. Write a report on the topic, ^^What my State is Doing to 
educate its Citizens.'^ 



CHAPTER XXI 
CARE OF SPECIAL CLASSES 

Special State Institutions. — Every state maintains in- 
stitutions for the care of special classes of persons who are 
not able to care for themselves, and whose relatives are 
either unable to support them or unable to provide suitable 
conditions and proper training. In some cases these in- 
stitutions make no charge; in other cases they require 
payments from those inmates whose families are able to 
pay. 

Taking Care of the Mentally Weak. — The care of the 
insane is a very important part of the staters work today. 
Instead of being allowed to wander about the country to be 
the sport of heartless persons, or being chained in dark 
cells if they seem dangerous, as used to be the case, the 
insane are today kept in clean, comfortable buildings 
and given the best of care. They are examined by experts 
who try to find the cause of their mental trouble, and to re- 
move this cause if possible. In many cases cures are made; 
and even when the mental powers cannot be restored com- 
pletely, it is often possible to improve a patient^s condition 
so much that he can do pleasant and useful work. 

Feeble-minded persons are also cared for by the state. 
Unlike the insane, these persons have never had good minds, 
but have been ^^ foolish,'^ as the common saying goes, all 
their lives. The feeble-minded are of many grades, from 
the person whose mind is just a little below the normal 

109 



no EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

standard, to the poor idiot who seems to have no mind at 
all. Of course it is impossible to give good minds to people 
born without them; but feeble-minded persons of the higher 
grades can often be trained to do various kinds of work 
which will enable them to support themselves. This makes 
their lives happy and saves the state a good deal of expense. 

Taking Care of Wayward Children. — Delinquent young 
persons — that is, boys and girls who have repeatedly 
broken the laws or perhaps even committed serious crimes 
— are sent to special state institutions. Here they are 
kept out of temptation and are trained in some useful trade 
or other means of self-support. How much better this is 
than the old-fashioned method of sending delinquent chil- 
dren to jail! The adult criminals there taught the children 
to pick pockets, snatch purses, and do all the other wrong 
things which they themselves practiced. This method was 
almost sure to turn a wayward child into a criminal, while a 
good industrial education will make it possible for him to 
earn an honest living and be a good member of society. 

Taking Care of Homeless Children. — Orphans, children 
deserted by their parents, children whose parents are not 
able to rear them properly, and other children who must 
depend on charity for their support are often cared for in 
state institutions. There are still many private charitable 
institutions and children's homes in existence, but these 
are nearly all inspected and supervised by the state, to make 
sure that the children kept in them are receiving proper 
care. While children are in these homes, they are educated 
in the subjects taught in the regular public schools; and 
in many cases they attend some public school near by. 
They are also trained in various kinds of work, so that if 
they are not adopted by private famihes, they will be able 



CARE OF SPECIAL CLASSES 



111 



to support themselves when they become too old to remain 
in the institutions. 

The Care of Tubercular Patients. — Many states are now 
undertaking the care of persons afflicted with certain dis- 
eases which have proved to be dangerous to the public 




The men in this picture served in the army during the World War and 
were wounded or otherwise disabled. They are being trained to operate 
linotype machines. 



health. A vigorous campaign has been carried on every- 
where to educate the public in fighting tuberculosis, and 
in many states public sanatoria have been built especially 
for tubercular patients. Like many other state institu- 
tions, these generally ask fees from those who are able to 
pay, but admit poor persons free of charge. Here the 
most desirable sanitary conditions, the most suitable food, 



112 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

and the best of care are provided, and the medical attention 
and the nursing are of the highest order. These institutions 
have saved many Hves directly, and have helped indirectly 
to save many more by the educational effect which they 
have had in proving that tuberculosis can be cured by right 
methods of treatment. 

Helping the Handicapped. — Most states have special 
institutions where the blind, the deaf, the crippled, and 
other persons with some defect may be educated and 
trained. Modern science has devised many ways of teach- 
ing them, until now they are not only educated like other 
persons, but are trained to earn their livings. After the 
deaf have been taught to speak and to understand lip- 
reading, they can enter many different occupations. The 
blind learn weaving, wood-carving, certain kinds of- metal- 
work, and many other things. Cripples learn whatever 
their individual cases will permit. During the World War, 
many new methods were devised for training injured men, 
and since the war much valuable work has been done by 
various states, as well as by the federal government, in the 
work of teaching them trades and occupations. 

Some states have other institutions for special classes of 
persons, such as homes for old soldiers. Every state in the 
Union undertakes the care of some of the special classes 
which we have just examined, and thus prevents much 
suffering and does a great deal of good. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Explain the difference between insanity and feeble-minded- 
ness. What kind of treatment is needed in each case? 

2. Why is it usually the state that cares for the insane and the 
feeble-minded? What institutions for the care of such persons are 



CARE OF SPECIAL CLASSES 113 

maintained by your state? What can you learn of the work of 
these institutions? 

3. Name your state institutions for the care of delinquent 
children. What kinds of training are given in these? What is the 
value of such institutions? 

4. Does your state maintain a home for the care of orphans 
and other dependent children? Does it inspect private institu- 
tions maintained for this purpose? What legal requirements are 
made of all institutions that care for children? What training is 
given the children? 

5. Are any institutions for the cure of tuberculosis and the train- 
ing of handicapped persons maintained by your state? Find out as 
much as possible about the work of these institutions. 

6. Do state institutions for the care of special classes of persons 
benefit you and other citizens, as well as the inmates? Explain 
your answei 



CHAPTER XXII 
PUBLIC HEALTH 

Advance in Public Health Work. — If we were able to 
look back upon the work of the state a hundred years ago, 
we should see that at that time it did very little for its 
citizens compared to what it is doing today. This is par- 
ticularly true in regard to health. A century ago nothing 
was known about germs, and people did not know that most 
diseases can be prevented. Today, however, we know that 
all such diseases as smallpox, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and 
tuberculosis are caused by germs. If we can keep these 
germs from entering into people's systems, we have to a large 
extent prevented disease. 

To prevent dangerous germs from spreading and to keep 
people from coming into contact with them, requires great 
vigilance on the part of the state, for these germs come to 
people in many different ways. Typhoid germs may be 
spread, for instance, by impure milk, impure water, or 
food which has become contaminated by them. Other 
germs may be spread in different ways. The problem of 
the state is to see to it that food, milk, and water are pure, 
and that persons who have contagious diseases do not pass 
on the germs to other people. 

Protection of the Water Supply. — A good deal of this 
work of protecting health is done by cities, as we have seen; 
but their authority is not sufficient to meet all needs. For 
example, a city cannot prevent persons who live out in the 

114 



PUBLIC HEALTH 115 

country from throwing sewage and garbage into the stream 
from which the city's drinking water is drawn; nor can it 
prevent persons who have smallpox or scarlet fever from 
handling apples, potatoes, or other articles of food which 
are to be shipped into the city. The state, however, has the 
power to regulate all such dangerous practices. In order 
to protect people from the germs that come from an impure 
water supply, the states are now beginning to regulate the 
use of all the streams of the state in order to keep them pure, 
Some of the states, for instance, will not let sewage or other 
impurities be dumped into their rivers. Some of them are 
seeing that the stagnant waters of the state are drained so 
that they will not furnish a good breeding place for mos- 
quitoes, which are known to carry the germs of malaria 
and other diseases. Some states also provide that, before 
any town or city can establish a water supply or increase 
its water supply, it must first consult the state board of 
health. 

Protection of the Food Supply. — States are also taking 
measures to protect the food supply. It has been found out 
that in many instances foods have been adulterated, or 
harmful preservatives have been added to them. Many 
states are passing laws which require all those who manu- 
facture food or who deal in food to be licensed. The state 
also lays down certain standards of purity for food and 
requires all food manufactured or sold to come up to these 
standards. In case any dealer does not comply with the 
law, his license is revoked. 

Prevention of Tuberculosis. — Tuberculosis has been 
called ^^the Great White Plague. '^ Thousands of persons 
in each state have been dying from this one disease each 
year. At last the states are awakening to the fact that 



116 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



tuberculosis is a disease that is not only curable but also 
preventable. We have found that there are several condi- 
tions which tend to cause tuberculosis, and that by prevent- 
ing these conditions we can to a large extent prevent the 
disease. The victims of tuberculosis suffer from this dis- 
ease largely because of overcrowding in houses without 
sufficient fresh air and light, working at such occupations as 




The dust shed by these grinding and polishing wheels is carried into the 
hoods and away through the pipes, so that the workers do not breathe it. 

marble-cutting, where dust is continually breathed, in- 
sufficient clothing and food, and lack of cleanliness. 

There are several ways in which the state can prevent 
tuberculosis. It can carry out an educational campaign, 
showing the causes of this disease and the methods of curing 
it. It can demand that houses and factories be built in 
such a way that there shall be plenty of light for each person, 
and that these places shall not be overcrowded. It may also 



PUBLIC HEALTH 117 

demand sufficient ventilation in all houses and factories. 
Much can be done by educating the people to a greater 
degree of cleanliness. 

Work of the State Health Authorities. — State boards of 
health are found in most states. In some the state health 
activities are intrusted to a commissioner of health or to 
both a board and a commissioner. In certain states the 
state health authorities may request and advise, but not 
compel, the local boards of health to do various things, 
such as to quarantine certain diseases, to send samples of 
drinking water for examination, and to enforce sanitary 
regulations. In other cases the state health authorities are 
given the power to compel obedience, so that no ignorant 
or obstinate local board of health can interfere with the 
welfare of all the people of the state. 

State health authorities do many things besides those 
which we have named. In case an epidemic occurs, it is 
their duty to use every possible method of stamping it out. 
They usually do a great deal of educational work, such as 
publishing pamphlets and newspaper articles on sanitation 
and the prevention of disease. Sometimes they distribute 
vaccine serum and other serums and antitoxins, regulate 
all dairies and slaughter-houses to insure cleanliness, and 
carry on research into the methods of curing certain dis- 
eases. We can easily see how valuable this work is and how 
much illness and suffering are saved to the people of a state 
by the activities of the state health authorities. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Explain how germs cause disease. 

2. Why has our knowledge of germs led to new methods of fighting 
diseases, and new c^re and precaution in regard to thdr spread? 



118 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

3. Explain how flies and mosquitoes spread disease. 

4. Mention ways in which drinking water may become con- 
taminated. 

5. Is your state taking any measures to exterminate flies and 
mosquitoes? 

6. What state laws regulate the water supply of cities and 
towns? 

7. What laws in regard to purity of food are in force in your 
state? What ofBcers enforce these laws? What powers and duties 
have they? 

8. Is your state taking any active measures for the prevention 
of tuberculosis? If so, describe these. 

9. How is your state board of health organized? What are its 
chief activities and duties? 

10. What has the state board of health done recently to improve 
the public health or to stam.p out disease? 



CHAPTER XXIII 
THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE STATE 

The Old Method of Punishing Criminals. — One of the 
most important branches of the staters work is the adminis- 
tration of justice; that is, the fair settlement of legal dis- 
putes, the protection of citizens against fraud, the punish- 
ment of criminals, and similar matters. In olden times 
many crimes were punished by the injured person or his 
relatives. The punishments were often excessively severe. 
The relatives of the criminal would defend him and seek for 
vengeance upon the family which had punished him. Thus 
the two families would become bitter enemies, and often 
their quarrels would be taken up by their friends, so that 
disorder and murder would be common. In all the more 
civilized parts of the world it is now seen that such a state 
of affairs is very objectionable, as it means that one crime 
leads to another, year after year. 

Advantages in Punishment by the Government. — It has 
been found much better to give over to governments the 
power to punish crime. There are several reasons why this 
is an improvement on the old system. The punishments 
are more likely to be fair when they are laid down by law 
than when they are planned by the injured person. Since 
the judge and the jury are not friends or enemies of either 
side, and their decision is impartial, there is no excuse for 
undertaking a quarrel with them and committing more 
crimes. The criminal is sure of having his side of the story 

119 



120 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

heard in court; and in case a person is falsely accused, he 
has the opportunity to prove his innocence. Judges and 
official trials have existed from early times, but they were 
often ignored by persons who preferred private vengeance. 
Today, however, all modern governments have complete 
power to deal with lawbreakers, and a person who commits a 
crime of vengeance is punished for it. The result is that 
we have much more order and safety than formerly. 

The Judicial Power of the States. — In the United States 
most crimes are punished by the individual states. Treason 
and certain other crimes against the nation are punished 
by the federal government, but it cannot undertake the 
work of doing justice in every case of lawbreaking in this 
great country. As we already know, minor violations of 
law are punished by the city; but it is the state which 
punishes for murder, arson, burglary, forgery, and many 
other offenses. A man who commits such a crime is con- 
sidered to be a dangerous person to everyone in the state; 
therefore, the state inflicts the penalty for his offense. Other 
reasons why the state, rather than the city, does this work 
are as follows: some crimes are committed outside of cities; 
few cities could afford to maintain prisons suitable for the 
retention and training of men who must remain in them 
for long periods of time, particularly as only a few persons 
would occupy the prisons; one man may rob banks or com- 
mit other crimes in several different cities, and the best way 
to pnnish him is to place him in the hands of the state. 

The authority to try offenders, punish crime, and decide 
legal disputes justly, is known as the judicial power. The 
state exercises its judicial power by means of a system of 
courts. It permits cities, villages, and other subdivisions 
to take over some of the work of doing justice by establish- 



THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE STATE 



121 



ing courts for the trial of unimportant cases, as we have 
seen. 

Justices of the Peace and Municipal Courts. — The lowest 
court is held by a justice of the peace, who decides disputes 




The judge who conducts the trial is seated at the raised desk. The jury 
in their "box " at the left of the picture are listening to the examination of 
witnesses. 



over small amounts or tries persons accused of petty of- 
fenses. Thus, if the man renting your father^s house will 
not pay his rent for the month, the case may be brought 
before the justice of the peace. If a boy steals your watch, 
he might be brought to this court for trial. In large cities 
there are often established two courts that do the ordinary 
work of the justice of the peace. One of these municipal 
courts may hear civil cases, or cases in which only property 
or money is involved; while the other may hear the cases 



122 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

of persons accused of petty stealing, fighting, spitting on the 
sidewalk, and like offenses. 

County Courts. — In most states, also, there are county 
courts; that is, courts that hear and decide certain cases 
arising in the county. They, as a rule, hear cases of more 
importance than the cases tried in the courts of the justice 
of the peace or the municipal courts. Questions involving 
larger sums of money or more serious offenses are brought 
before them. In many instances they hear appeals from 
the lower courts; that is, if one of the parties believes that 
he did not secure justice in the court of the justice of the 
peace, or in the municipal court, he may have the case 
tried in the higher court. 

District Courts and the Supreme Court. — In many states 
there is a district, superior, or circuit court, which may try 
cases involving any amount of money or any crime. The 
judges of these courts may be elected from larger districts 
than the county. They hold terms of court in the different 
parts of the state at different times of the year. 

At the head of our state judicial system stands, as a rule, 
some supreme court or court of last resort. It deals pri- 
marily with appeals from the lower courts. Its decisions 
are final. 

Special Courts. — In many states other courts are organ- 
ized for special purposes, such as children's courts that deal 
with wrongdoing by children. We also have probate or 
surrogate courts that settle the affairs of people who have 
died. 

Trial by Jury. — According to both custom and law, 
anyone accused of serious offenses has the right to be tried 
by a jury. A jury is a group of persons, usually twelve in 
number, who decide whether or not the prisoner's guilt is 



THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE STATE 



123 



proved* Each prisoner is entitled to appear in court before 
the judge and the jury, to tell his side of the case, to pro- 
duce witnesses in his defense, to hear the witnesses against 
him, and to have the advice and help of a lawyer. The case 
against the prisoner is conducted by an officer known as a 




The lesson on the blackboard shows that these prisoners cannot 
read and write. An education might have helped to keep them out 
of jail; and it is hoped that they may learn enough here so that after 
their release they will earn their living in honest ways. 



prosecuting attorney. He explains to the jury the reasons 
v/hy the prisoner has been brought to trial, and calls wit- 
nesses to give evidence against him. Of course, the prison- 
er's lawyer tries by means of argument and witnesses to 
prove the man's innocence. 

After both sides have completed their evidence and argu- 
ments, the judge explains to the jury what points they 
should consider in making their decision, and tells them 



124 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

about the law in regard to the case before them. The 
jury are then taken to a private room, where they decide 
upon their verdict. If it is ^^ guilty/' the judge pronounces 
sentence; that is, tells the prisoner what his punishment is 
to be. 

The Legal Penalty for Crime. — In giving sentence, the 
judge is always guided by law. For example, the law may 
say that a certain minor offense shall be punished by a fine of 
not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred and 
fifty dollars; or that a greater crime shall be punished by 
imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than five 
years. The judge cannot give sentences outside these 
limits. If the prisoner has never committed a crime before, 
the judge will probably give the lightest sentence permitted 
by law; if the prisoner is an old offender, the judge will 
probably give the heaviest legal penalty; but it is the law, 
rather than the judge's own feelings, by which he is guided. 
This is much better than permitting the judge to impose 
any penalty of which he might happen to think, as it pre- 
vents easy-going judges from allowing criminals to go almost 
unpunished, while at the same time it prevents those of 
severe nature from imposing unfairly heavy penalties. 

Some civil cases — that is, disputes about property or 
money — are also tried before a jury; but very minor cases, 
both civil and criminal, are tried by the judge alone. 

The County Jail and the State Prison. — When it is con- 
sidered necessary to imprison a person as a penalty for crime, 
he is sent to either a county jail or a state prison, according 
to the nature of his offense and the length of his imprison- 
ment. 

The county jail is managed by local authorities, but it 
is really a part of the state system of penal institutions; for, 



THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE STATE 125 

as we have already learned, the county is in many respects 
acting for the state. As persons are sent to county jails for 
short terms, not much attempt is made to educate or train 
the prisoners in these institutions. In most state prisons, 
however, where the inmates are serving long terms, edu- 
cational work is undertaken. The idea is spreading rapidly 
that it will benefit not only the inmates of the prisons, but 
society in general, to place each prisoner in a position to 
earn an honest living when he is discharged. In many state 
prisons, classes are held for the benefit of those whose educa- 
tion has been neglected, useful trades are taught, and every 
encouragement is given the prisoners to resolve upon leading 
honest lives after their release. Much has already been done 
in this direction, and more is being accomplished every year. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Why is it necfessary that criminals shall be punished? 

2. What is the difference between piiaighment and revenge? 

3. Why is the punishment of wrongdoers more iil^^ to be just 
when administered by public officials than when left to private 
individuals? What do you mean by just punishment? 

4. Why do the states, rather than cities or the federal govern-^ 
ment, punish most persons guilty of serious crimes? 

5. What is a court? What is a trial? 

6. Why should a person accused of wrongdoing be given a trial? 

7. Why is a person tried even if he confesses that he has com- 
mitted the crime of which he is accused? 

8. Why are several courts of various grades needed? 

9. Why should persons sometimes be permitted to appeal from 
the decision of one court to a higher court? 

10. What is a jury? Why are most important cases tried with 
the help of a jury, instead of being left to the judge alone? 

11. Why are most up-to-date prisons introducing educational 
work? What should be the objects of sending a man to prison? 
What kind of treatment is most likely to help a criminal to reform? 



CHAPTER XXIV 
THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE STATE 

The Lawmaking Body. — In every governmental organ- 
ization there must be some person or persons with authority 
to make the rules and regulations, or laws. In all the state 
governments in the United States the bodies, or groups of 
people, that do this work are called legislatures. The legis- 
lature in each state is chosen by the people and given the 
power and right to make all rules and regulations for the 
state. This authority is called the legislative power. 
The laws made by a state legislature must not conflict with 
the national Constitution, with federal laws and treaties, or 
with the state constitution. Except for these limitations, 
the legislature can make all the laws that are necessary for 
the health, safety, protection, and welfare of the people 
of the state. 

The Two Houses of the Legislature. — In every state of 
the Union the legislature is composed of two branches. One 
of these, known as the lower house, is usually called the 
house of representatives, or the assembly; while the other, 
or the upper house, is usually called the senate. As a rule 
the lower house is much larger than the upper, consisting 
of from fifty to one hundred and fifty members; while the 
upper house consists of only about thirty to fifty members. 
Ordinarily the members of the lower house are about three 
times as numerous as those of the upper house. The mem- 
bers of the lower house are elected from smaller districts 

126 



THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE STATE 127 

than the members of the upper house. The result is that 
usually the upper house is composed of persons of more 
ability than the lower house; for as a rule the larger the 
district from which a man is chosen, the better will be the 
man, as the voters have a wider choice. In many states, 
also, the senators have longer terms than the representatives. 
It is these differences that make the upper house generally 
more powerful than the lower house. 

Reasons for a Two-House Legislature. — If we should ask 
the reason for having two houses of the legislature instead 
of one, the reply would be that it is largely historical. When 
the state constitutions were adopted, many men believed 
that if there were only one house, the great majority of the 
people, being without property or land, would elect rep- 
resentatives who might injure the property rights of the 
wealthy. They wished, therefore, to have an upper house 
composed chiefly of large property owners, in order to keep 
the multitude of the common people from exercising too 
much power. In this way the lower house would represent 
the majority of the people, while the upper house would 
represent the minority. Many also believed that if only 
representatives from the common people were elected to 
office, they would pass much legislation that was hasty and 
not well considered; while if all laws had to be passed by 
two houses, they would be thoroughly discussed and care- 
fully framed. 

Many people today believe that, since it has been shown 
that the representatives of the people do not violate the 
rights of the wealthy, and since having two houses causes 
slowness and lack of responsibility for the making of good 
laws, it is best to have a one-house legislature. However, 
no state has as yet established such a legislature. 



128 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Election of Representatives. — The members of both 
houses of the legislature are chosen by the people. In 
most states one or more members of the lower house are 
elected by the people of each county. In many states 
the members of the upper house, or the senate, are cho'sen 
from larger districts, usually composed of several counties. 
In all cases the people vote directly for those who represent 
them. Whether or not we have good government in our 
states, therefore, depends to a large degree upon the in- 
telligence of the people in choosing these representatives. 
If the people are able to choose good, honest, and capable 
men, the affairs of the states will be carried out in the right 
way. If they choose bad men or men without ability, the 
work of the state government, which we must always 
remember is a part of our own work, will suffer. It is the 
duty of each citizen, before he votes, to look up the record 
of each candidate who is running for the legislature in 
order to find out who is most likely to serve the people well. 

The Presiding Officer. — Just as it is impossible for a 
roomful of people to make plans when all are talking at 
once, so likewise it is impossible for the legislature. Every 
legislature, therefore, has its own rules and regulations, 
telling how it shall carry on business. In order that every- 
one shall not talk at once, and that order may be preserved, 
each house of the legislature has a presiding officer. This 
officer is usually called the speaker. The speaker has a 
good deal of power, as he has the right to recognize a member 
who desires to speak; that is, to allow him to address the 
house. He also has considerable power in appointing com- 
mittees. 

Standing Committees. — Besides having rules stating 
who shall speak and how he shall speak, it is also necessary 



THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE STATE 129 

to divide the work that such a large body must do. The 
members of the legislature must plan for the collection of 
money; they must plan for expending money; they must 
plan for the making of laws on very many subjects. It is 
almost impossible for every member to make a deep and 
careful study of every problem that comes before the 
legislature, as some of the more important problems demand 
weeks of investigation. Therefore it is customary to appoint 
standing committees, each of which is to study certain 
problems and report to the entire house the results of its 
investigation. The recommendations of the committee are 
usually considered and discussed by the legislature before 
the final vote is taken. 

The Initiative. — About half the states in our Union pro- 
vide some means of permitting the people to take a direct 
part in lawmaking, instead of leaving this function entirely 
to the legislature. In some states the people have the power 
known as the initiative; that is, the right to begin lawmak- 
ing, by obtaining a certain number of signatures to a pro- 
posed law or constitutional amendment. When the requi- 
site signatures are obtained, the legislature must vote 
upon the measure, or the people must be given the oppor- 
tunity to vote upon it at an election, according to the laws 
of the particular state. 

The Referendum. — The referendum is the right enjoyed 
by the people in some states to have bills, or proposed laws, 
referred to them for approval, after being passed by the 
legislature. The exact circumstances under which this is 
done vary from state to state. In most states where the 
referendum exists, if a certain number of voters sign a 
petition asking that the people be given an opportunity to 
vote upon a measure before it actually becomes law, an 



130 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

election must be held; and if the measure is defeated in this 
election, it fails to become law. 

The initiative thus gives the people an opportunity to 
secure desirable laws, and the referendum enables them to 
protect themselves from undesirable ones. As we have 
already learned, the referendum is found in practically every 
state in regard to constitutional amendments and unusual 
expenditures, but it is not so widespread in regard to ordi- 
nary legislation. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What is legislative power? Why is it essential that all divi- 
sions of government shall possess this power? What is a legislature? 

2. What are the exact titles of the upper and the lower houses 
of your state legislature? How many members are elected to each 
house? Name the members of these houses who represent the part 
of the state where you live. 

3. Explain why the two-house legislature is common in the 
United States. 

4. When did your state legislature hold its latest session? Name 
some important measures passed by it. Was there general satis- 
faction with its work? If not, who are to blame? Explain your 
answer. 

5. Why is a great deal of the work of legislatures done by com- 
mittees? Why is not every measure fully discussed by the entire 
legislature? 

6. What are the powers of the speaker? What principles should 
guide him in appointing committees? 

7. Explain initiative and referendum. What is the value of 
each? Could either of these rights be misused? Explain. 



CHAPTER XXV 
THE EXECUTIVE POWER OF THE STATE 

Enforcing the Laws. — Laws would be of little use unless 
there were some person or body of persons to enforce them. 
For instance, there would be no use in making a law that 
the schools should be in session eight months in the year, 
unless somebody were made responsible for carrying on the 
schools. Those people in any government who carry out 
the laws are called executives. Most of the state constitu- 
tions provide that the governor of the state shall be the 
chief executive; that is, the one to whom the people must 
look to see that the laws of the state are carried out. Work- 
ing with him, there are several other state officials who help 
him enforce the laws. 

Qualifications of the Governor. — In each state in the 
Union we have a governor, who is always elected by the 
people*. He is considered responsible for the enforcing of 
the laws of the state. Many states prescribe certain quali- 
fications for this office, among which are citizenship in the 
state, sometimes a certain length of residence in the state, 
and often a requirement as to age. Except in a very few 
states, there are no property qualifications. 

The Governor's Influence on Legislation. — The governor 
has a considerable amount of power, as a rule. Though he 
has no direct influence in the making of laws, his indirect in- 
fluence is large. Often he is the leader of his political party 
in the state, and so the members of the legislature more or 
less follow him. He has a right to make recomniendations 

131 



132 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

to the legislature, and these are likely to be adopted by the 
party leaders in the legislature and made into laws. 

In all the states except one, the governor has the power of 
vetoing laws; that is, he has the power to withhold his 
consent to any bill that the legislature may pass. In case 
he does this, the bill does not become law unless passed 
again by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Because the 
governor has this power, he may keep bills from being con- 
sidered, or from being passed, by a threat to veto them. 

The governor also has power, under certain circumstances, 
to call a special session of the legislature to consider meas- 
ures that he deems important. As the measures are thus 
forced on the attention of the members of the legislature 
and they can consider no others at a special session, the 
governor is often able to secure legislation in this way. 

Thus, we see that a good deal of power in planning the 
work of the state and its laws is in the hands of the governor. 
Since he is elected by the people of all the state instead of 
only a small district, they naturally look to him as the one 
to determine, to a large extent, the plans of the state. 

The Power of Appointment. — The governor's power of 
appointment gives him great influence. He has many 
boards, commissions, and ojQBcers to appoint. In many 
states he appoints the members of the board of health, the 
board of agriculture, the board of parole, the prison com- 
mission, and various other officers. The power of appoint- 
ment and removal of officers gives him a certain control over 
the administration of these departments, for an officer is 
likely to consider the wishes of the person who appoints 
him and can remove him. 

The Governor's Military Power. — The governor in every 
state is the commander in chief of the state militia, except 



THE EXECUTIVE POWER OF THE STATE 133 

in time of actual war; and as such, he has large powers in 
putting down riots, insurrections, and disturbances. In 
case of war or insurrection within the boundaries of the 
United States, or in case mihtary power is needed to enforce 
its laws. Congress may call state militia to the aid of the 
federal government. (Constitution of the United States, 
Article I, Section 8, paragraph 15.) This was done in 1916, 
when troops were sent to the Mexican border. 

The Pardoning Power. — To the governor belongs the 
rather important power of pardoning those who have been 
convicted of crime, if in his opinion there is some good reason 
for giving them lenient treatment. 

Other Executive Officers. — The governor, of course, 
is not the only state executive officer. There are many 
chairmen of boards and commissions, and numerous other 
executive and administrative officers, such as the secretary 
of state, the attorney general, the state treasurer, and the 
state superintendent of public instruction, each of whom 
is placed in charge of certain branches of the state's work. 
It is not necessary for us to consider the duties of these 
officers, as we have already learned something of the work 
done by their departments. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What is an executive? What is executive power? Who 
is the chief executive of each of our states? 

2. Explain how the governor can influence the making of laws, 
even though he has no direct legislative power. What is meant 
by a veto? How does the governor's veto power help him in in- 
fluencing legislation? 

3. Why do most states give the governor power to appoint the 
heads of executive boards? 

4. Under what conditions may a governor call out the state 
militia? When does it pass out of his command? 



CHAPTER XXVI 
STATE FINANCES 

Sources of State Revenue. — We have seen in former 
chapters that the state carries out a great many activities. 
Each of these activities evidently requires the expenditure 
of money. Where do the states get the money to do all this 
work? If we examined the financial systems of all the 
states, we should see that there are many different sources 
from which money may be obtained. A state like New 
York, for instance, may raise large sums by charging a small 
amount on each sale of stock. A state like Oklahoma, which 
has vast stores of oil, zinc, and other metals, may levy a 
small tax on each dollar^s worth of oil or zinc produced. 
But most of the states have the same sources, though they 
have some special ways of collecting revenue; that is, 
raising money toward the expenses of government. 

Property Tax. — By far the largest amount of state 
revenue is derived from the general property tax. This 
tax usually consists of a certain number of cents or mills 
on the dollar to be paid for each dollar^s worth of property 
in the state. Thus, if a man has ten thousand dollars' 
worth of land, buildings, horses, cows, and furniture, and 
the state tax is one cent on every dollar of valuation, he 
would pay one hundred dollars in taxes to the state. 

Often the state exempts a certain amount of property 
from taxation; as a rule, about three hundred dollars' 
worth. We generally consider that persons who have less 

134 



STATE FINANCES 135 

than this amount of property are hardly able to pay taxes. 
Certain charitable, educational, and religious institutions 
are often excused from paying the general property tax. 

Income Tax. — A number of states obtain a part of their 
revenues by taxing the incomes of their citizens. Ex- 
emptions are always made, so that the tax is borne by those 
best able to pay. 

Inheritance Tax. — Another source of revenue that is 
being used by some states is the inheritance tax. This is a 
tax levied upon property that passes to others after the 
death of the person owning it. In some cases, if the amount 
transferred is small, the tax is very light, but it rises as the 
amount of the property transferred increases. The law 
may provide, for instance, that no tax at all shall be levied 
upon an inheritance of less than five thousand dollars, 
which goes to a near relative. On larger amounts a tax of 
one, two, three, or four per cent may be levied, according 
to the size of the inheritance and the relationship of the 
heir to the person who has left the estate. 

Taxes on Corporations. — Many states secure revenue 
from corporations. Some of them charge all companies 
organized in the state an organization tax, or a tax upon 
the right to do business as a corporation. Some states 
charge corporations organized in other states a license tax 
for the privilege of doing business within their borders. 
There is also, in some states, a tax on the right that is given a 
corporation to use streets and public highways. 

Poll Tax. — In several states the government receives 
some revenue from the poll tax, which is a small tax, usu- 
ally a dollar or so, upon each individual or each male in- 
habitant in the state between certain ages. 

Income from Property and Service. — Nearly all states 



136 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

receive some income from public property, such as the sale 
or renting of lands, or the collection of tolls for the use of 
canals, and from charges for services furnished by the state. 

Income from Fines and License Fees. — All states obtain 
money from fines anii penalties of various sorts. Many 
receive considerable revenue from charging license fees for 
the use of automobiles, for permission to hunt game, and 
for other privileges. 

Restrictions on Expenditures. — The state legislature is 
the body charged with planning how the state's money shall 
be spent. Nearly all states provide some restrictions upon 
the amount of money that the legislature may appropriate. 
Many of them also require a vote of the people for large 
expenditures of money, such as are needed for the building 
of highways and canals. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Since the work of the state is carried on for the public wel- 
fare, who should pay for this work? 

2. How does the state obtain money to pay its expenses? Why 
does it exempt certain persons and institutions from taxation? 

3. Name the principal kinds of taxes levied by the state. 

4. Secure the latest report of your state treasurer, and see if 
you can discover sources of revenue which have not been discussed 
in the text. Which of these might be used in every state? Which 
of them depend on certain local conditions? 

5. Why do most state constitutions limit the authority of the 
legislature to expend money? 

6. Why is it customary to call for a popular vote when large 
sums are to be expended? 



THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER XXVII 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL 
GOVERNMENT 

Why a National Government Is Needed. — We saw in 

Chapter III that city governments are not large enough 
units to carry out some important kinds of work that we 
must do collectively, such as building and repairing high- 
ways, furnishing protection to the citizens traveling over 
the state, and giving justice to all citizens. If we think a 
moment, we can easily see that even the state government 
is not a large enough unit to look after all our interests. Let 
us consider why this is so. 

Suppose you were an orange grower in California and 
wished to ship oranges to Chicago or New York. If each 
state had a right to charge you for letting the oranges pass 
through its territory — as it would have, if the states were 
not united into a nation — you can easily see that by the 
time you had paid all these charges you would have to ask 
such a high price for your oranges that no one would wish to 
purchase them. Or suppose that a railway company wished 
to build a line from New York to San Francisco and found 
that two or three of the states, which the line must cross, 
would not let the railroad go through their territory. You 
can readily see what difficulty might be experienced. 

National Control of Commerce. — Let us imagine again 
that we had no national government and that each state 

137 



138 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

could do as it pleased in every way. Texas might charge 
citizens of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado such high 
tariffs on all wheat or oil shipped from the port of Galveston 
to Europe that it would not be profitable to raise wheat or 
to produce oil. Probably if Texas tried to do this, the other 
three states would unite, form an army, and try to secure 
a port on the Gulf of Mexico in order to be free from paying 
this tariff. We can see that if the complete control of com- 
merce were left to state governments, they would continu- 
ally be fighting one another. As it is, however, the national 
government guarantees that all goods may be shipped be- 
tween states without any duty or charge whatsoever. The 
result is that one of the main causes of warfare between the 
states is removed. 

National Protection against Enem.ies. — If we had forty- 
eight states all jealous of one another and quarreling with 
one another, we can see how easily any one state might be 
defeated by a European nation or any other nation. If 
Texas had to depend entirely on herself for protection 
against Mexico and also had hostile states on her north, 
she would continually be fearing for her safety. As it is now, 
with all the states working together for their protection 
through the national government, it would be almost im- 
possible for any nation to defeat us. 

From these few illustrations it is evident that we need 
a national government. 

The First Union of the States. — As all of us know who 
have studied history, the first union of the states took place 
in 1777, when the Continental Congress adopted the ^'Ar- 
ticles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.'' By this 
step the thirteen colonies entered into a rather loose union 
or confederation. 



DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 139 

Financial Weakness. — This confederation soon proved 
too weak to do the things that the people considered a 
national government should do. One reason for its weak- 
ness was the fact that Congress had to depend on the 
states for money instead of collecting it in the form of taxes 
from individuals. As the states were careless and slow in 
making payment, and Congress had no way of forcing them 
to do better, the national government soon found that it 
was unable to pay its debts or carry on its work; for a 
government, like a person, cannot work without money. 

Commercial Rivalry. — There was also much commercial 
rivalry among the states. Each state was trying to levy 
high tariffs or importation duties on the goods of every other 
state. This resulted in much bad feeling between the states, 
and there was even danger that they might go to war with 
one another for these reasons. Since the national govern- 
ment did not have sufficient control over commerce, it could 
not remedy this bad situation. 

Weakness in Foreign Relations. — The foreign commerce 
of the states was equally bad. England and other European 
countries did not respect the states or believe in their power, 
and so levied high tariffs against them. Because the states 
were weak and were quarreling among themselves, they 
could not retaliate. 

Weakness in Defense. — The nation was also unable to 
protect itself from danger from foreign aggression. It 
could not collect enough money to prepare for defense, and 
it had to depend on jealous states for its supply of troops. 
It had no power itself, such as the national government has 
today, to say to each man, ^^ You are needed in the army.'' 
Before it could get any men, it had to secure the consent of 
the states. 



140 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

The Constitutional Convention. — These and other reasons 
made the patriotic and thoughtful men of the country de- 
termine to amend and change the Articles of Confederation 
in such a way that the national government would have 
more power. 

Several times the question of making such changes was 
suggested. Finally at a convention at Annapolis in 1786, 
called to make an agreement regarding the navigation of 
the Potomac, Alexander Hamilton of New York suggested 
that all the states send representatives to a convention to 
be held in Philadelphia for the purpose of giving more power 
to the national government. All the states except Rhode 
Island responded to this call and sent delegates. Among 
these delegates were many of the famous men of the country, 
including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Robert 
Morris, Edmund Randolph, and Alexander Hamilton. 
Many of them had had training in government and prac- 
tical administration. Several, in fact, had been governors 
of their own states or had taken some other part in public 
life. It is rather interesting to note that although a college 
education was a rare thing in those days, more than one 
half the members of the convention were college graduates. 

Adoption of the Constitution. — After holding sessions 
from May to September, this convention completed a Con- 
stitution, which was submitted to the states for ratification. 
It was provided by the convention that as soon as nine of 
the states had ratified the Constitution it should go into 
effect. The required number of states had ratified it by 
the midsummer of 1788, and the other four states gave their 
consent later. By this Constitution powers were given to 
the national government which remedied the weaknesses of 
the Articles of Confederation. 



DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 141 

The Growing Power of the National Government. — When 
the government of the United States under the Constitution 
was first estabhshed, there were many who beheved that it 
would not be a success. Many more beheved that the state 
governments would continue to be stronger than the na- 
tional government. Neither of these predictions, however, 
has proved true, for during every year from its beginning 
until the present time the power of the national govern- 
ment has been steadily growing. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Of what value is our national government in keeping peace 
among the states? 

2. What is its value in protecting us from foreign enemies? 

3. How does the national government help to make travel and 
commerce easy and safe? 

4. What were the Articles of Confederation? What were the 
chief defects and weaknesses of these Articles? What were the 
relations of the states to one another at this time? 

5. Describe the convention at which our present federal Con- 
stitution was adopted. What kind of men composed this con- 
vention? 

6. What was the chief difference between the new Constitution 
and the old Articles of Confederation? 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
WHAT THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT DOES 

National Welfare. — The national government carries 
out so many different kinds of work that it is impossible 
in this book to describe any but the most important. We 
shall see, in examining our national government, that it 
works for the welfare of the citizens at large, instead of for 
those in only a small community. 

Foreign Relations and Commerce. — In the first place, the 
national government rather than the state government has 
complete control over all dealings of the United States with 
other countries. It is the national government that declares 
war and makes peace with other nations. Only the national 
government has the right to maintain an army and a navy. 

All regulation of foreign commerce is in the hands of the 
national government. If certain goods are not allowed to 
come in from a foreign country, it is the national govern- 
ment that acts in this matter rather than the state govern- 
ments. Also, if it is decided to make a charge for letting 
goods come in from a foreign country, the regulation of this 
charge is left to the national government. 

Coining Money. — The national government is given 
control over all currency used in the country. It alone 
has the right to coin money. 

Interstate Commerce. — All commerce between the states 
is regulated by the national government. It is therefore 
the national government, and not the state, which regulates 
the rates the railways shall charge between two cities in 
different states. 

142 



WHAT THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT DOES 143 

Immigration and Naturalization. — The national govern- 
ment determines what people may come into the United 
States from foreign countries, and what people cannot come. 




The Mint at Philadelphia. Here gold, silver, and nickel are made into 
coins and stamped with the designs that distinguish the coins of the 
United States. 

It also says who may become a citizen of the United States. 

Postal Service. — The post offices and post roads are 
under the control of the national government. In con« 
nection with the Post Office Department, it conducts the 
parcel post system and the postal savings bank. 

These are only a few of the many important services 
which the government of the United States performs for 
its citizens. In the following chapters we shall examine 
some of them in more detail. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What is the principal difference between the work of the 
national government and the work of a state or a city government? 

2. Name some of the powers of the national government. Why 
has each of these powers been given to it, rather than to the states? 



CHAPTER XXIX 
PUBLIC DEFENSE 

National Control of Army and Navy.— It is easy for us 
to see why public defense should be a national function 
rather than a function carried out by the states. It is much 
less expensive to have one large army than to have forty- 
eight armies, one in each state. It is much more efficient 
to have the whole army under one command rather than 
under many commands. This was shown in the World 
War, when the command of all the allied armies was in- 
trusted to General Foch. If the states are not allowed to 
keep armies, there is much less danger that they will fight 
among themselves. 

The same reasons and others might be given for letting 
the national government alone control the navy. 

Military Powers of Congress. — The lawmaking body of 
the United States, the Congress, is given not only the very 
important power of declaring war, but also the power of 
raising and supporting armies. This power is without any 
limitation, except that Congress shall make no appropria- 
tions of money for this purpose for a longer term than two 
years. 

The Regular Army. — It has never been the policy of the 
United States to maintain a large standing army, after the 
example of many European nations. She has relied, in 
case of emergency, upon the militia of the several states 
and upon volunteers; and in case of prolonged war she has 
drafted men into service. 

144 



PUBLIC DEFENSE 145 

The regular army has always been recruited by volunteers 
and has always been rather small. In Washington's term 
of office as President it contained only about 5000 men. 
During the Civil War, Congress authorized the increase of 
the standing army to 35,000 men, and during the Spanish- 
American War it was increased to 65,000. By a provision 
of the National Defense Act of 1916 the army was increased 
to 207,000. The present tendency is to decrease its size, 
and in June, 1921, an act was passed reducing the number 
of enlisted men to 150,000. 

The Power to Support Armies. — Under its power to 
support armies, Congress may carry on many functions. 
During the World War, by virtue of this power Congress 
established the systems of food and fuel administration; 
officers' training schools were established in most of the 
colleges and universities of the United States; the regu- 
lation of health and disease was undertaken in the cities 
near training camps; and railroad lines were built in France. 
In fact, during a great war Congress can bend every energy 
of the country toward the winning of that war. 

Control of the Army. — At the head of the army and the 
navy is the President of the United States, who has general 
supervision and control over all military and naval activi- 
ties. Directly under him is the Secretary of War, who has 
charge of the organization, equipment, and control of the 
army. The Secretary of War is a civilian who is appointed 
by the President. We can thus see that, although the army 
is powerful, it is always under the control of the people, for 
it is raised and supported by Congress, the power to declare 
war rests with Congress alone, and the army is directly 
under the command of the President. 

development of the Navy. — The navy of today really 




146 



PUBLIC DEFENSE 147 

began in 1885, when a complete reorganization of the Navy 
Department took place. Some years later, the Spanish- 
American War showed us the importance of a large navy, 
and since that period our naval program has steadily been 
growing, until at the opening of the World War ours stood 
third in the navies of the world. It has been rapidly de- 
veloped until now only Great Britain has a larger navy. 
In order to prevent naval development from becoming too 
great a burden upon our people and a menace to world- 
peace, the United States has inaugurated a movement for 
reducing the naval strength of the greatest sea-powers. 
We shall learn more of this in Chapter XLI. 

The President is the commander in chief of the navy. 
The actual work of supervision of the navy is under the 
Secretary of the Navy. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Give as many reasons as you can why it is better for our 
country to defend itself by means of one army and one na\^, in- 
stead of allowing each state to have an army and a navy. 

2. Read the Constitution of the United States, Article I, Sec- 
tion 8, paragraphs 11-18. Name as many things as you can which 
Congress has done with the object of ^^ carrying into execution the 
foregoing powers,^' although these things are not actually named 
in the Constitution. 

3. What measures are being taken to train men, so that even 
without maintaining a large standing army, we can always be 
sure of a good-sized reserve force? 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE REGULATION OF COMMERCE AND OF 
IMMIGRATION 

Regulating Foreign and Domestic Commerce. — Congress 
is given the power by the Constitution to regulate both 
foreign commerce and commerce between the states. We 
have seen in Chapter XXVII why it is necessary that this 
work should be under the control of the national govern- 
ment rather than the state. 

In 1921 the United States exported $6,516,315,346 
worth of merchandise and received from other countries 
merchiandise valued at $3,654,449,430. We can see that 
the regulation of such an immense amount of trade is a very 
important matter. We may well ask the question, ^^How 
does Congress regulate foreign commerce? ^^ 

Tariff on Imports. — The chief regulation upon foreign 
commerce consists of levying taxes on certain goods that 
come into the United States. This is done for several 
reasons. It is an easy way to collect revenue to help pay 
the expenses of government. Those who approve of high 
taxes, or tariffs, on imported goods claim that these tariffs 
help new industries in this country, by keeping out foreign 
competition until the industries are well started here, or 
at least by making the foreign goods so high priced that 
people will prefer to buy the American-made articles. 
They also claim that the tariff is good for workingmen. 
They say that the manufacturer who is selling goods made 

148 



REGULATION OF COMMERCE AND IMMIGRATION 149 

in America at a high price can afford to pay high wages, 
while if he had to cut down his prices to compete with 
foreign goods, he would have to cut wages also. 

On the other hand, those who oppose high tariffs claim 
that the buyer, not the manufacturer, ought to be con- 
sidered. They say that it is not fair to protect manufac- 
turers and let them ask high prices, when they would have 
to sell goods more cheaply if low-priced foreign articles were 
allowed to come in without charge. They claim that the 
manufacturers who do not enjoy the protection of the high 
tariff pay just the same wages as those who do; while the 
latter are simply enabled to make very large profits which 
benefit nobody but themselves. They say, also, that any 
industry which cannot be carried on without the high tariff 
to protect it (except a new, or ^^ infant^' industry, which 
may need a little help) is not necessary to the general- wel- 
fare; and that the money invested in it ought to be used in 
some other field of business, where it can earn profits with- 
out forcing the public to pay high prices. 
- This question of the tariff has been one of the great po- 
litical questions before the people of the United States for 
a whole century. It has, to a large extent, divided the coun- 
try into two parties. The Republicans contend for a high 
tariff for the reasons given above; while the Democrats 
contend that we should have a tariff for revenue only. 

Since 1916 we have had a tariff commission, whose duties 
are to make a study of the tariff needs of the different parts 
of the country. The actual making of the tariff is, however, 
left to Congress. 

The Need of Restricting Immigration. — Another im- 
portant duty undertaken by our national government, 
through Congress, is the regulation of immigration. If 



150 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

every person in the whole world were absolutely free to come 
to the United States to live, we can see that the country 
might soon have an enormous population, with all kinds of 
religion, all the different languages of the world, and many 
different customs. Many people might come into the 
United States who would not make good citizens. If all 
these people actually came to us, we might find so many 
differences among them that it would be impossible for them 
to cooperate and work together for the welfare of the coun- 
try. If there were no public control over immigration, we 
might soon find that other countries were sending us all their 
paupers, their criminals, and their defective classes. For 
these and other reasons it is necessary that the government 
shall have control over immigration. 

Restrictions on Immigrants. — Congress, therefore, passes 
laws saying what people can come into the United States 
and under what conditions. Under the present law, ad- 
mission is refused to aliens who are illiterate, who have cer- 
tain physical and mental defects, who have been criminals, 
who are morally defective, or who may become paupers. 
Admission is refused also to cheap contract laborers, that 
is, people who have made a contract to work for some em- 
ployer at wages so low that they cannot live decently in 
this country. Some oriental peoples are also excluded. 

Before an alien can come into the United States, he must 
be examined, to prove that he is not a member of any of 
the debarred races, that he has a strong body, that he has 
no serious mental defects, that he can read and write some 
language, that he is not morally defective, that he is not an 
anarchist or a polygamist, is not a contract laborer, or has 
not been assisted to emigrate. The alien must pay a tax 
of $8 to the government for the cost of making the exam- 



REGULATION OF COMMERCE AND IMMIGRATION 151 

inations. How large is this problem of examining all the 
immigrants may be gathered from the fact that from 1905 
to 1914 an average of over a million immigrants came to 
this country annually. 

A federal law of 1921 provides that the number of aliens 
of any nationality who may be admitted in any fiscal year 




The women at the left of the picture are seeking admission to the 
United States. Each one will be examined in turn. The woman 
seated by the table is now taking her examination. 

shall be not more than three per cent of the number of 
foreign-born persons of the same nationality who were 
residing in the United States when the 1910 census was 
taken. 

Bureau of Immigration. — In order that the work of ex- 
amination and exclusion may be well carried out, it is in- 
trusted to the bureau of immigration, at the head of which 
is the commissioner general of immigration. This bureau 



452 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

is a subdivision of the Department of Labor, about which 
we shall hear later. It maintains various stations at the 
principal ports of the United States, where the immigrants 
may be examined. The most important of these stations 
are at New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New 
Orleans, Galveston, San Francisco, and Seattle. 

Regulating Interstate Commerce. — By the Constitution, 
Congress is given the power to regulate and control com- 
merce between the states. There are many ways in which 
it does this. It may regulate the rates charged by railway 
companies or other companies engaged in interstate com- 
merce, may regulate the kinds of service that shall be given, 
and may make requirements as to safety appliances. It 
may prevent combinations in restraint of trade between 
states; that is, any sort of agreement or arrangement which 
will interfere with the ordinary course of business. It 
may inspect drugs and foods, and may regulate many other 
matters. In all these cases it establishes agencies to carry 
out the law. The principal agencies that do the actual 
work of regulating interstate commerce are as follows: 

1. The Interstate Commerce Commission has charge of 
carrying out the federal laws in regard to railway and 
steamship companies, sleeping car and express car com- 
panies, telephone and telegraph companies, and oil pipe 
companies, whenever they are engaged in interstate com- 
merce. This commission is charged with the duty of seeing 
that these companies charge reasonable rates, and that they 
do not discriminate between shippers or localities. 

2. The Federal Trade Commission has the task of seeing 
that persons, partnerships, and corporations do not use 
unfair methods of competition in interstate commerce. 
In case the commission believes that unfair practices are 



REGULATION OF COMMERCE AND IMMIGRATION 153 

being used, it makes an investigation and has a hearing. 
At the end of this hearing the commission makes an order 
which must be obeyed by the party that has been unfair, 
unless, upon an appeal to a circuit court of appeals, the 
order of the commission is modified or set aside by the 
court. This commission also gathers, puts in shape, and 
publishes information on the organization, methods of 
management, and practices of any corporation engaged 
in interstate trade, with the exception of banks* and rail- 
road companies, which are controlled in a different manner. 
The Purpose of National Regulations. — The objects of 
the national government in regulating foreign commerce, 
interstate commerce, and immigration are to secure the pros- 
perity of all the American people, to prevent undesirable 
foreigners from injuring them in any way, and to do justice 
to both business interests and the general public. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Explain what is meant by a tariff on imports. 

2. Show clearly why a tariff makes the price of the goods higher. 

3. What arguments are given by those who favor high tariffs? 
Explain fully each of these. 

4. What arguments are given by those who oppose high tariff? 
Explain each one carefully. 

5. What is meant by ^'tariff for revenue only ^^ ? 

6. Why does Congress place restrictions upon immigration 
from foreign countries? 

7. What qualities make an immigrant a desirable citizen? What 
qualities make him undesirable? 

8. What restrictions and conditions has Congress made in re- 
gard to immigration? 

9. What is interstate commerce? 

10. Why is the control of interstate commerce placed in the hands 



154 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

of Congress, instead of being left to treaties or agreements between 
the states? 

11. Explain some of the ways in which Congress regulates inter- 
state commerce. 

12. What is the work of the Interstate Commerce Commis- 
sion? 

13. What is the work of the Federal Trade Commission? 



CHAPTER XXXI 
THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT 

Value of the Postal Service. — In- Article I, Section 8, of 
the Constitution of the United States, Congress is given the 
power 'Ho estabhsh post offices and post roads. '^ It has 
used this power to develop our present great postal system, 
which renders many public services of a very important 
type. 

The carrying of letters, cards, newspapers, magazines, 
and other mail is not only a great convenience to practically 
every person in the country, but it is a valuable help to all 
kinds of business. The distribution of newspapers and 
periodicals does much to educate the public, and for this 
reason the charges for carrying such things are made as low 
as possible. 

Agreements are made with foreign countries in regard 
to the exchange of mail service, so that communication 
is possible among persons in almost all parts of the world. 

The Parcel Post. — The parcel post service has been of 
great benefit to the public. Though it was established only 
a short time ago, going into effect on January 1, 1913, it 
has already come to be looked upon as indispensable. Per- 
sons living on farms or in parts of the country removed 
from large markets and stores, as well as from railways and 
express offices, are now able to order goods by mail, and to 
receive them promptly through the parcel post service. 

Rural Mail Delivery,— The rural delivery mail routes 

155 



150 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

have done much to make country Hfe happier. Instead 
of being shut off from the outside world, as in the past, with 
no newspapers, magazines, or letters available except when 
an occasional journey could be made to the nearest town, 
those who live in the rural districts today are in daily 
touch with public affairs and personal friends, through the 
rural delivery system. 

Special Postal Privileges. — The privilege of having mail 
registered or insured for a small extra payment is very 
valuable indeed to those who wish to send important docu- 
ments or costly goods through the mail with almost positive 
certainty that they will be delivered in safety. When it is 
necessary that a piece of mail shall reach its destination as 
quickly as possible, special delivery service may be secured 
in all cities and many smaller places. As soon as a special 
delivery letter reaches its destination post office, a mes- 
senger is sent out to deliver it to the person to whom it is 
addressed, not waiting for the usual carrier to take it. 
Another convenient feature of our postal system is the 
privilege of having purchases sent by mail, to be paid for 
on delivery. This so-called C. 0. D. service is very popular. 

Postal Savings Banks. — In 1910 Congress passed a law 
establishing postal savings banks. At first no person was 
allowed to deposit more than $500 in these banks, but on 
July 2, 1918, an act took effect which raised this maximum 
to $2500. The advantage of the postal savings banks over 
other savings banks is that they will receive deposits 
as low as one dollar, and that they issue ten-cent stamps 
which may be saved upon a card until the purchaser has a 
dollar's worth, which will then be credited to his account 
when he hands in his card to the postmaster. With the 
help of these stamps, children or persons who have only a 



THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT 157 

very small amount of money can save little by little. Two 
per cent interest is paid the depositor of funds in these 
postal savings banks, and the safety of the money deposited 
is guaranteed by the national government. 

Thrift Stamps. — During the World War the system of 
selling thrift stamps and war-savings certificates through 
the Post Office Department was put into operation. The 
sales made in this way were very large. During the fiscal 
year 1918, through the agency of postmasters, 80,965,404 
war savings stamps and 201,702,334 thrift stamps were 
sold. These sales helped the federal government by pro- 
viding it with money to carry on its work, and at the same 
time helped each purchaser to save money for the future, 
as the stamps are really certificates of loans which will be 
repaid by the government. 

Postal Money Orders. — A long-estabHshed branch of 
our postal service is the sale of money orders. A person 
may pay a sum of money to a postmaster and receive a 
certificate which he can send to a distant place. The person 
receiving the certificate will be able to secure the amount of 
money deposited in the first post office, from his own post 
office many miles away. The fee for this service is small, 
and the safe delivery of the money is almost certain. If 
the order is lost or destroyed, the money will be refunded. 

Other Postal Services. — Other types of service given by 
the Post Office Department are railway mail service, motor 
vehicle service in cities, and air service between certain 
cities of the United States. All these branches will develop 
more and more in the near future. 

The work which we have described does not by any 
means cover all that is done by the Post Office Department; 
but it will make it clear to us why the Postmaster-General 



158 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



must have four Assistant Postmasters-General to supervise 
the various branches of service. 

Revenues and Expenses.^-There are more than 54,000 
post offices in the United States. They employ a large 
number of persons and do an important business. In 
1921 the revenues of the postal service were more than 
$463,000,000, while its expenditures were $620,000,000. 




The mail which has been brought by airplane from a distant city is being 
transferred to a motor truck, which will take it from the aviation field to 
the post office. 

In addition to this deficit, we must note the heavy cost of 
construction, upkeep, and replacement of federal post office 
buildings. If all of these items were counted, it would be 
found that the government renders the great benefits of 
the postal service at far less than cost. 



FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 



1. Of what value to the public is the United States postal service? 

2. Why are newspapers and magazines carried for a low rate of 
postage? 



THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT 159 

3. Describe the parcel post service. Obtain the rules govern- 
ing this service, and explain the zone system. 

4. Tell of the various special postal services which can be pur- 
chased at a low rate. 

5. Describe the postal savings bank system. What kinds of 
depositors find this system of great value? 

6. What is a money order? Explain its advantages. 

7. Would it be possible for the post office department to lower 
its rates very much? Explain your answer. 



CHAPTER XXXII 
THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 

Consequences of Wasting Our Resources. — President 
Roosevelt once said, before a conference of governors, that 
^Hhe conservation of our natural resources and their proper 
use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies 
almost every other problem of our national life/^ We can 
readily see why this is so. If our iron becomes exhausted, 
we shall have to import steel products from other countries 
at high cost. When we consider how much our modern 
civilization depends upon iron and steel, we realize that 
the exhaustion of our iron supply alone would make our 
country much less desirable to live in. If our land becomes 
worn out through careless use, it will not raise so much as 
formerly, and in consequence each farmer will have to work 
harder, the price of all farm products will increase, and 
everyone will have to live in a less comfortable fashion than 
before. If we let our forests be used without thought for 
the future, we shall soon find that it will be difficult to 
provide enough homes for our people. If we let a few 
people control our resources and become immensely wealthy, 
the rest of us are just so much the poorer. 

Our natural resources consist very largely in those great 
supplies of minerals, forests, and lands with which the 
United States is so richly endowed. Probably no other 
country has a greater diversity of these resources. 

Wasting the Forests. — The original forests of the United 

160 



THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 161 

States covered about 850,000,000 square acres. At the 
present time they cover only about 550,000,000 square 
acres. But these figures look on paper very much better 
than the actual facts. While it is true that we have cut 
or destroyed only about one third of our acreage, this por- 
tion represents the very best part of the timber. Much 



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See how wastefuUy this forest has been treated. Much timber is 
left to decay, and there are no young trees coming on. How long 
would our forests last if all were treated like this? 



of that which remains consists of inferior kinds of timber 
and trees of very much less value. At the present rate of 
consumption it is estimated that our forests will be ex- 
hausted within the next forty or fifty years, unless we take 
definite steps to protect them and start on a large project 
of replanting. 

Forest Reserves. — The conservation of forests has been 



162 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

started by the government along two main lines. The 
first is the system of setting aside forest reserves. National 
forests, of which there are today something like 168,000,000 
square acres, have been set aside by the federal govern- 
ment and are carefully protected by it. Several of the 
states also have set aside forest reservations. All together, 
nearly one half of the forest land in the United States is 
owned by either the states or the national government. 
Much of this land, however, is not particularly good, and 
the very best of our timber land is owned and controlled by 
private individuals and corporations. 

Conservation by Fire Prevention and Planting. — The 
second method of conserving our forests consists in planting 
trees and preventing fires. The care of the national forests 
is intrusted to the National Forest Service, which is a bureau 
of the Department of Agriculture. The forest service per- 
forms many very valuable functions, among which are the 
planting and care of young trees, the harvesting of mature 
timber, the leasing of forest lands for sheep and cattle, and 
the building of roads through the forests. 

Mineral Resources. — Unlike the forests, the mineral 
resources of the country cannot be replaced after they are 
exhausted. For many years we fully believed that we had 
an inexhaustible mineral supply in the United States. With 
our rapid development in population, however, the use of 
minerals has increased so greatly that unless careful steps 
are taken it will be only a few years, relatively speaking, 
before our best mineral resources have been exhausted and 
we must depend on the lower grades. Finally, we may find 
ourselves without -these necessary factors of modern civili- 
zation. 

The mineral resources of the United States may be clas- 



THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 163 

sified as coal, iron ore, precious metals, oils, building stone, 
and miscellaneous minerals. 

These have all been produced by careless methods which 
have wasted much valuable material, and the minerals 
themselves have been used very extravagantly. Coal, for 
example, has been wasted by the old-fashioned system of 
mining which left great pillars of this valuable fuel in each 
mine to support the roof. Of course, artificial supports 
should be placed in the mines, and the coal should be taken 
out. Then, coal has been wasted by careless burning, 
which often led to the throwing away of a good deal of coal 
in ashes; and also by the use of coal to run machinery or to 
generate electricity, when water power from streams and 
falls would have answered the purpose. The same kind 
of thing is true of the production and use of other mineral 
resources. The only methods which will remedy the situa- 
tion are greater care in production, so that no waste is per- 
mitted, and careful and sparing use of the products, in 
order to make them last as long as possible. 

Resources in Land. — Like our other natural resources, 
land used to be so abundant in the United States that it 
seemed almost impossible for the supply to run low. But 
our population has increased from a little more than 
5,000,000 people in 1800, to more than 105,000,000 in 1920. 
In spite of the great additions to our territory since 1800, 
we have not nearly so much land, in proportion to our 
population, as we had then. It used to be possible for 
settlers to find in the western plains miles upon miles of 
rich fertile land upon which they could settle and make 
their fortunes. This land was often carelessly used, so that 
in many cases its richness has been destroyed. The best 
lands were settled long ago; yet it was necessary to provide 



164 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

more homes for our people and more opportunities for agri- 
culture. 

Reclamation of Arid Land. — Both the federal govern- 
ment and the governments of the states became interested 
in this land question, with the result that in 1877 the Desert 
Land Act was passed. This act offered large tracts of arid 
land to settlers at the very low rate of twenty-five cents an 
acre, on condition that the settlers should do a certain 
amount of irrigation within three years. This was followed 
by an act of 1895, providing that the federal government 
should give lands to the states in the arid sections of the 
country, on the condition that the states should arrange 
to have this land irrigated and settled. 

In 1902 there was passed an important act providing for 
the irrigation of certain lands by the federal government 
itself. The land is sold to settlers, who must also pay the 
government for the work of irrigation. 

This work, and the similar work of draining swampy 
lands and otherwise making useless lands into valuable ones, 
is known as reclamation. It is conducted by a Reclamation 
Service Bureau under the Department of the Interior (of 
which we shall hear more later); and in the 1918 report of 
this department we are told that the reclaimed lands yielded 
a crop during the previous year ^^more than that produced 
for any New England state at the last national census. 
Thus, in effect, a new state has been added to the nation. ^^ 

Improved Agricultural Methods. — In addition to re- 
claiming land, the federal government is doing much to 
teach the best methods of making use of land. Rotation 
of crops, testing of soils, the addition of suitable fertilizers 
in order to keep the land rich, and many other valuable 
lessons are taught by the literature and agents of the De- 



THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 165 

partment of Agriculture. Much of our nation's prosperity 
depends upon agriculture; and the government is doing all 
in its power to teach the best and most progressive methods 
of meeting all agricultural problems. Diseases of livestock, 
remedies for blights and rusts of various kinds, methods of 
fighting destructive insects, and numerous other problems 
are studied carefully by government experts, and accounts 
of the discoveries made by them are printed and circulated, 
often free of charge. Most states do work of this same type, 
devoting themselves more particularly to the problems of 
their own domain. With such helps, our land can be used 
to the best advantage, so that it will bring forth an abun- 
dance of food. 

^^Care and conscience'' are the two essentials which 
must be required of all who control or use our natural re- 
sources. With ^^care and conscience," we shall be able to 
supply ourselves abundantly, and yet leave plenty for many 
generations that will follow us. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What is meant by natural resources? 

2. What are the principal natural resources of the United States? 
Why is it necessary to use these carefully? 

3. Describe the work of the United States in conserving forests. 

4. How does the conservation of forests benefit the general 
public? What would be the result upon the prices of furniture, 
timber, and wood in all forms, if no such policy were pursued? 

5. Can you explain why a number of states are undertaking 
forest conservation? 

6. Why do thoughtful persons emphasize the necessity of great 
care in our production and use of mineral resources? 

7. What is the difference between mineral supplies and forests, 
as natural resources? 

8. Name many ways of helping to conserve mineral resources. 



166 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

9. What can be done to improve land whose fertihty has beea 
destroyed by careless use? Why is it necessary to care for land 
in a country so large as ours? 

10. What is meant by the reclamation of land? What kinds 
of lands are reclaimed? Describe the various ways in which the 
work of reclamation is done. 

11. Tell all that you can of the work of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 
PAYING FOR THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT 

National Expenditures. — The many and varied activi- 
ties of the national government require the expenditure of 
enormous sums of money. This expenditure averages over 
one biUion dollars a year, or about ten dollars per capita — 
that is, for each man, woman, and child in the United States. 
Where and how is this money obtained? 

Excise Taxes and Customs Duties. — For many years 
the government derived nearly all its revenue from two 
sources: internal revenue, or excise taxes laid on liquors 
of various kinds, tobacco, and a few other articles; and 
customs duties, or tariffs, laid on imports from foreign coun- 
Cries. The reasons why these taxes were depended upon 
to such an extent are easy to see. 

In the first place, they yield large sums of money. Again, 
they are quite easy to collect, as inspectors and collectors 
employed by the government can watch factories and ports 
in order to make sure that the taxes are paid. They are 
also less irritating to the public than taxes collected from 
the final purchaser of the goods, such as a tax of one cent 
on each ten cents^ worth of perfume or soda water. Of 
course, it is the public that actually pays the excise and 
customs taxes, for when the tobacco manufacturer or the 
importer has paid the tax, he simply adds that amount to 
the price which he asks. However, the purchasers of to- 
bacco and imported goods do not think much about this, 

167 



168 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

as a rule; and in any case they are not constantly annoyed 
by the demand for taxes a dozen times a day. Hence these 
taxes are much favored. The amount of money received 
from excise taxes will be much less in the future than in the 
past, as the constitutional amendment establishing national 
prohibition has cut off the revenue from taxation of liquors. 

Income Taxes and Excess Profits Tax. — Since 1909 
Congress has not depended altogether on these two forms of 
taxation. In that year it began to tax the incomes of cor- 
porations, and since 1913 it has taxed also the incomes 
of individuals. The rate of taxation on individual incomes 
rises rapidly as the size of the income increases. During 
the World War and the years directly following it (until 
1922), Congress raised a large amount of money by an excess 
profits tax. This is a tax on all business profits above a 
certain percentage. It is interesting to note that during the 
last half of 1917 and the first half of 1918, the receipts from 
these last three forms of taxation nearly equalled the in- 
ternal revenue receipts. 

Those who favor income taxes and excess profits taxes 
argue that ability to pay is the best basis of taxation, and 
that large incomes and excess profits both show ability to 
pay. 

Borrowing by the Government; The National Debt. — 
In time of war or emergency, and when great public works 
are to be undertaken, the government secures much money 
through borrowing it from private individuals, and giving 
promises to pay the money back at a certain time with 
interest. These various promises to pay are called notes, 
bonds, and war savings certificates. 

From 1888 until 1916, the debt of the country was always 
just about a billion dollars, or about ten dollars per capita. 



PAYING FOR WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT 169 

In carrying on the World War, however, the government 
rapidly increased the national debt until by 1919 it 
amounted to more than twenty-five billions of dollars; 
and it is now about $237.00 per capita. 

Method of Spending Money. — Probably the weakest 
spot in our national government is its expenditure of money. 
In every well-organized business the manager and the board 
of directors make plans for expending money. In the 
national government the President and the members of his 
cabinet have very little to do with financial planning, which 
is carried on through a number of committees in Congress, 
such as the committee on army and navy and the committee 
on rivers and harbors. These various committees do not 
act in Tiarmony with one another. Each wishes to secure 
as much money as possible for the branches of service under 
its own jurisdiction. 

Those who plan for the raising of money are not the same 
group of persons as those who plan for the spending of 
money. Therefore we often have a large surplus in the 
treasury, which means that the government has collected 
more money from the people than it needs; or else we have a 
large deficit, which means that the government must borrow 
in order to pay the appropriations that have been passed. 

The Budget System. — This financial problem has been 
solved in several other countries by providing that the 
legislative body shall not consider any motion or bill in- 
volving an expenditure, unless such an expenditure is recom- 
mended by the prime minister and the cabinet. Many 
thinking people have tried to work out some satisfactory 
system for the United States whereby a budget — that is, 
a scientific plan for the raising and spending of money — shall 
be made the basis of all financial operations. A budget 



170 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

law of 1921 provides that the President shall prepare a 
budget, with the help of a budget bureau; and shall present 
it to Congress at the opening of each session. Since there 
is no limitation upon the power of Congress to alter, revise, 
or even reject the budget, the law is little more than a 
first step in the right direction. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Explain excise taxes. Explain customs duties. Why have these 
two taxes formerly been the chief source of income of the national 
government? 

2. What is a corporation tax? An income tax? An excess 
profits tax? Can you explain the basis on which these taxes are 
levied? 

3. In what ways did our national government borrow money 
from the public during the World War? What was the effect of 
this war on our national debt? 

4. What is a budget? What is the use of a budget? 

5. Why should the same persons plan to raise money and to 
expend it for various kinds of work? What is the effect when those 
who plan to raise it have no connection with those who plan to 
spend it? 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 

Organizing the Government. — In Chapter XXVII we 
saw how the federal Constitution was estabHshed. In this 
chapter we shall find out what the federal Constitution is, 
and how it influences our government. 

In the first place, the Constitution organizes the national 
government. It says who shall be the chief executive 
officer, how he shall be elected, what his powers shall be, and 
how he may be removed. It likewise organizes the legis- 
lature and the courts. 

Powers of National and State Governments. — In the 
second place, the Constitution says what powers the na- 
tional government shall have and what powers the states 
shall retain. We have seen why certain powers were given 
to the national government instead of being left with the 
states. We have seen that to the national government 
were given those powers which would keep the states from 
fighting with one another, which would protect them from 
foreign oppression, and which would accomplish other 
things essential to the common welfare. These powers, 
we learned, are the powers over foreign and interstate 
commerce, power over the army and navy, power over post 
offices and post roads, etc. 

All powers not delegated to the national government 
were left to the states or to the people of the United States 
as a whole. A list of the powers of the national government 

171 



172 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

and of the state governments, as given by Professor Munro/ 
is as follows: 

Federal Powers State Powers 

1. Taxation for federal pur- 1. Taxation for local purposes 

poses 

2. Borrowing on the nation's 2. Borrowing on the state's 

credit credit 

3. Regulation of foreign and 3. Regulation of trade within 

interstate commerce the state ^ 

4. Currency and coinage 4. Civil and criminal law 

5. Foreign relations and trea- 5. The police power 

ties 

6. Army and navy 6. Education 

7. Postal service 7. Control of local government 

8. Patents and copyrights 8. Charities and corrections 

9. Regulation of weights and 9. Suffrage and election 

measures 10. Organization and control of 

10. Admission of new states corporations 

Limitations on the Government. — In the third place, 
the federal Constitution places certain great limitations 
on both the national government and the state governments. 
The people feared that the governments might perhaps 
become oppressive, as certain European governments had 
been. To make sure that those in control of the govern- 
ments would not oppress the people, these limitations were 
placed in the Constitution. 

In order to learn some of the limitations placed on the 
national government, read the Constitution of the United 
States, Article 1, Section 9; also the first ten amendments. 
To learn some of the limitations placed upon the states, 
read Article 1, Section 10, of the Constitution, and Amend- 
ments XIII, XIV, and XV. 

^ Munro, W. B., The Government of the United States, page 46. 



THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 173 

Methods of Changing the Constitution. — In the fourth 
place, the national Constitution provides a method by which 
it may be amended from time to time, as the necessity arises. 
There are two main ways of changing the Constitution: 
(1) by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress plus 
a favorable vote of three fourths of the states; (2) by a con- 
stitutional amendment being presented by two thirds of 
the states for adoption and then ratified by three fourths 
of the states. So far only the first method has been 
used. 

The Amendments. — Since the Constitution was estab- 
lished, it has been amended nineteen times. The first ten 
amendments were made very shortly after the main part 
was adopted; the eleventh was adopted in 1798 and the 
twelfth in 1804. The next three amendments were adopted 
as a result of the Civil War; while the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth were both adopted in the same year, 1913. The 
eighteenth amendment is known as the prohibition amend- 
ment and was adopted in 1919. The nineteenth amend- 
ment, providing that the right to vote shall not be denied 
or abridged by the United States or by any state on account 
of sex, was passed by both houses of Congress in 1919 and 
ratified in 1920. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What is meant by the statement that the federal Constitu- 
tion organizes the national government? 

2. When authority was distributed between the national govern- 
ment and the state governments, what rule was followed? Look 
at the list of powers given in the text, and show how each one 
comes under this rule. 

3. Why was it considered necessary to place limitations upon 
the powers of both national government and state governments? 



174 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Make as long a list as you can of these limitations, and explain the 
meaning of each. 

4. Why did the makers of our federal Constitution establish a 
method for amending it? What is likely to be the case with any 
public document that cannot be amended? 

5. Read all the amendments to the Constitution, and explain 
each one. 



CHAPTER XXXV 
THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE NATION 

The Legislative Power of Congress. — According to the 
Constitution of the United States, the making of national 
laws is intrusted to Congress. Congress is composed of two 
houses called the Senate and the House of Representatives. 
No bills can become laws unless they are passed by both 
of these houses. The power given to Congress to make 
laws is known as legislative power. 

Number of Representatives; Their Qualifications. — The 
House of Representatives is much the larger of the two 
houses of Congress, having at the present time 435 members. 
The number of representatives which each state sends to 
Congress depends upon the number of people living in 
that state. 

The Constitution provides that a person shall have cer- 
tain qualifications in order to be ehgible to the office of 
representative. He must be at least twenty-five years old, 
must have been a citizen of the United States for seven 
yearS; and when elected must be an inhabitant of the state 
from which he is chosen. Each member of the House of 
Representatives is elected for a two-year term, and all 
members of the house are elected at the same time. 

Number of Senators. — The Senate is much smaller than 
the House of Representatives, having only two members 
from each state, no matter what its size. Thus, New York 
with over ten million people has only the same number of 

175 



176 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

senators that Nevada or Wyoming has. At the present 
time, since there are forty-eight states, there are just double 
that number of senators. 

Election of Senators; Their Qualifications. — Previous 
to the adoption of the seventeenth amendment to the Con- 
stitution, the members of the Senate were elected by the 
different state legislatures. Since that time, however, they 
have been elected by the people of the state. Each senator 
is elected for a six-year term, and one third of the members 
of the Senate retire every second year. No state elects 
both of its senators at the same time, unless some unex- 
pected vacancy should occur. Senators are elected at the 
regular state elections, and all those who have a right to 
vote for state officers also have a right to vote for senators. 
In case a senator dies or resigns, the governor calls a special 
election, unless a state election is near at hand, in which 
case the governor may appoint a person to fill the vacancy 
until this election is held. 

Like the members of the House of Representatives, 
senators are required by the Constitution to have certain 
qualifications. A senator must be thirty-five years of age, 
nine years a citizen of the United States, and an inhabitant 
of the state from, which he is chosen. 

The Influence of the Senate. — The Senate has alwa3^s 
been a much more powerful body than the House of Rep- 
resentatives. This is due to several facts: the senators are 
elected from much larger districts than the representatives, 
are as a rule older men with more experience, have longer 
terms, and are members of a much smaller body, thus giving 
each one of them a larger chance to make himself felt. Other 
factors that give the Senate greater influence are the fact 
that many officers, heads of departments, and other public 



THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE NATION 177 

servants appointed by the President must be approved by 
the Senate, and the fact that it shares with the President 
the treaty power. 

Powers of Congress. — If you will read Article I, Section 8, 
of the Constitution, you will see that Congress is there 
given power over eighteen large functions or activities. 



The Senate Chamber in the Capitol at Washington, 

We shall have time here to describe only some of the most 
important of these. 

The Power to Tax. — Congress is given almost unlimited 
powers over taxation. We can readily see why this is so, 
if we will think for a few moments. Suppose that two or 
three nations were attacking the United States, and sup- 
pose that Congress were limited in the amount of taxes 
it could levy in order to obtain money to protect the nation. 



178 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

If it could not secure funds, the country might perish. 
You can see that, if the World War had continued a few 
years longer, it might have been necessary for Congress 
to levy exceedingly heavy taxes in order to carry on the 
war successfully. As it was, through the Combined power 
of taxation and borrowing, the government secured money 
that would equal more than one third of the value of the 
goods produced in the United States during any one 
year. 

u The Power to Borrow.— Congress also has the power to 
llorrow money. In the case of a great national undertaking, 
Congress often decides that all the cost of paying for it should 
not be collected from the people within one year or even 
a few ryears. Therefore it borrows money, which it agrees 
to pay back gradually, instead of collecting the entire 
amount at once from taxation. The Panama Canal cost 
over $378,000,000. If all that large sum of money had been 
raised by taxation in one year, in addition to the other 
money that had to be raised, it would have proved a heavy 
burden on the people. The government, therefore, bor- 
rowed this money for a long term of years. In time ol 
war also the government borrows much money, inst^^ 
of calling upon the people to pay all the needed funds into 
the treasury through taxes. During the World War the 
government raised five large loans, totaling several billions 
of dollars. The power of determining whether it is best 
for the country to borrow money or to raise it by taxation 
is left to Congress. 

Regulating Commerce. — One of the most important 
powers of Congress is the power to regulate commerce. 
Three kinds of commerce are mentioned in the Constitu- 
tion as subject to this regulation: commerce with foreign 



THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE NATION 179 

nations, among the several states, and with the Indian 
tribes. 

Foreign Commerce. — The regulation of foreign commerce 
by the nation instead of the states accompHshes many valu- 
able results. In the first place, it prevents friction between 
the inland states and the states having harbors upon the 
ocean, or states which border on foreign countries and those 
which do not. If New York were able to tax foreign com- 
merce, she would grow very wealthy from doing so, while 
the inland states would regard her with envy. As it is now, 
the money that is received at the port of New York goes to 
the national government and is distributed throughout the 
states in the form of services to the people. By having the 
national government regulate this commerce, it is possible 
to establish much better tariff relations with other coun- 
tries than if the states had charge of such regulation. Re- 
ceipts from foreign commerce are also a very good way 
for the national government to collect part of its revenue. 

Interstate Commerce. — Congress has the power to 
regulate commerce among the states. The word commerce 
has been given a very broad definition by the courts, so 
that it includes many kinds of business intercourse between 
the states. It includes the sending of goods from one state 
to another, the sending of telephone and telegraph messages, 
the transportation of passengers, and the shipping of oil 
in pipe lines. 

Probably there is no other single power of Congress that 
has done so much to make us one nation instead of many 
states. The merchant, instead of being dependent upon 
the protection of many states in which he does business, 
depends upon the power of Congress to protect him. Goods 
which pass through various states, instead of being taxed 



180 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

upon entering or leaving each state, are entirely free from 
such restrictions. A traveler is not compelled to stop at 
each state line to have all of his papers and baggage exam- 
ined; he can travel freely from one part of the countr^^ to 
another. Because the national government, instead of the 
states, regulates interstate commerce, it is possible to carry 
on business on a large national scale. 

The War Power. — The war power of Congress is also 
very great. Congress has the right to declare war and to 
do everything necessary to carry on war successfully. It 
can raise armies and equip them, build navies, provide for 
the training and education of soldiers and sailors, and in 
fact do practically anything that will aid in winning a war. 
How great is this power may be seen from the declaration 
of war with Germany. In this declaration it was stated 
that Congress pledged the entire resources of the country 
to the carrying on of the war. During the war, Congress 
controlled the food supply, operated the railroads, built 
ships, and established training camps for officers in nearly 
every college in the land. Under the war power, also. 
Congress may set up a military government in any country 
that is conquered by the United States. After we secured 
the island of Porto Rico in 1898, for instance, a military 
government was set up and was continued for some little 
time. 

Other Powers of Congress. — We have discussed the 
power over naturalization sufficiently elsewhere. Among 
other powers of Congress that we shall not have time to 
discuss fully are the powers over currency, weights and 
measures, and patents and cop3Tights. Congress makes 
laws in regard to these and many other matters, for the 
benefit and welfare of the entire nation. 



THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE NATION 181 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Review the reasons given in Chapter XXIV in regard to 
the custom of having a two-house legislature. With these in mind 
you will be able to answer the following questions: 

(a) Why were two houses of Congress established? 

(6) What is the meaning of the difference in qualifications as to 
age and residence, between members of the two houses? 

(c) Why must every bill be passed by both houses before it 
becomes a law? 

2. Examine a history of the United States to learn why all 
the states are allowed the same number of senators, while the 
number of representatives varies according to population. 

3. Explain how it is that the Senate, though much smaller 
than the House of Representatives, has become more influential. 

4. Make a list of the powers given to Congress in Article 1, 
Section 8, of the Constitution, expressing these in your own lan- 
guage. Explain, in each case, why the power was given to Con- 
gress rather than to the individual states. 

5. Who are the senators from your state? How many repre- 
sentatives has your state? Who is the representative from your 
district? 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE NATION 

Necessity for Federal Courts. — Why, we may ask, is 
it necessary for the national government to have a system of 
courts, when the state does so much in protecting its people 
from fraud, injustice, and crime? There are several rea- 
sons why federal courts are necessary. Suppose two states 
were disputing with each other regarding a boundary line. 
It is evident that neither of these states would believe that 
the courts of the other state would be unprejudiced in set- 
tling the dispute. They would, however, trust the national 
court to give them justice. Again, if a citizen of California 
owed a citizen of Washington a sum of money, the citizen 
of Washington might believe that he would be discrimi- 
nated against if he brought his suit in a California court. 
The California citizen might feel the same way about trust- 
ing the Washington court. Both of them would know, 
however, that the national court, having no interest one 
way or the other in the matter, would give them a fair trial. 

It would not look well if foreign ambassadors, ministers, 
or consuls should be compelled to bring their lawsuits in 
state courts or to be sued by state courts. They represent 
their governments and should be treated with as great re- 
spect as though they really were the foreign governments. 
Such a respect would make it necessary, therefore, that they 
should sue or be sued in a court representing the whole 
United States. 

182 



THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE NATION 183 

Let us suppose, again, that the United States govern- 
ment were suing a citizen. It would not be very dignified 
for the nation to have to ask a state court to hear its suit. 
The state court might refuse permission to bring suit, and 
even if it did so, it might be prejudiced. 

Suppose that a person broke a law of the United States. 
It surely would not do for the national government to de- 
pend, for the enforcement of that law, upon the state courts. 
In case the states did not wish to enforce the law, or refused 
to do so, people would soon feel that the laws of the United 
States need not be respected. Unless we had federal courts, 
the United States laws would be differently interpreted in 
different states, thus leading to much confusion and injus- 
tice. 

For these reasons and some others, it is necessary for the 
national government as well as the states to have courts. 

Cases Decided in the Federal Courts. — The next ques- 
tion that we may ask is, ^^ What kinds of cases come before 
the United States courts?'' All the kinds of cases that 
have been mentioned in this chapter may be tried by federal 
courts; that is, all cases between states, all cases affecting 
representatives of foreign governments, and all disputes 
where the national government is one of the parties to the 
suit. The federal courts may hear cases of admiralty and 
maritime jurisdiction; that is, cases in regard to ships 
which sail upon waters controlled by the national govern- 
ment, or in regard to the debts or financial dealings of such 
ships, the conduct of officers and sailors belonging to them, 
etc. They also decide cases between a state, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 

Besides these cases, any case arising under the Consti- 
tution, the laws, or treaties of the United States may be 



184 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

tried in the federal courts. A few illustrations will show 
how cases come into the federal courts in this way. The 
Constitution of the United States prohibits any state from 
denying any person within its jurisdiction — that is, under 
its control — the equal protection of its laws. If any state 
should pass a law saying that all voters who had not been 
born in the state must pay a tax of one dollar a year before 
they could vote, while all who had been born in the state 
were exempted from this tax, such a law could not be en- 
forced. A man might sue the state in a federal court, claim- 
ing that in being required to pay a dollar, while his neighbor 
was exempted, he was deprived of equal protection of the 
laws. The court would decide that this was true, and that 
the law was not valid because it conflicted with the federal 
Constitution. 

Let us consider a case arising under the laws of the 
United States. A federal statute might provide that no 
adulterated food should be shipped from one state into an- 
other. A federal pure food inspector finds that the A. B. C. 
Preserve Company is shipping from Kansas City to Denver 
'^strawberry jam'^ which, as a matter of fact, is largely 
composed of apples. The case will be brought into the 
federal court to find out if the law really has been broken. 
If it has, the federal courts will determine, according to law, 
what the punishment will be. 

A case might arise under a treaty, if the United States 
had a treaty with Great Britain agreeing to prohibit the 
manufacture of phosphorus matches, and a citizen of the 
United States were found manufacturing them. 

The Supreme Court. — Just as in the state governments 
there are various courts for various purposes, so there are in 
the national government. At the head of the judicial 



THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE NATION 



185 



system of the United States stands the Supreme Court. 
This court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate 
justices. Any six of them may constitute a quorum and 
so render a vahd decision. 

This court has jurisdiction over two classes of cases, 
that is, the authority to hear and decide them: namely. 




The United States Supreme Court meets in this room, 
of the judges at the right of the room. 



Notice the seats 



those cases that come to it directly and those cases that 
come by way of appeal from the lower courts. In the first 
class of cases are all those affecting ambassadors, consuls, 
and other public ministers of foreign powers and cases in 
which a state is a party. It is easy to see why these cases 
should come before the highest court in the land immedi- 
ately, since one class deals with representatives of other 



186 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

nations, and the other with states. If a person thinks that 
some lower court has not granted him a right, privilege, 
or immunity that he should have under the Constitution, 
laws, or treaties of the United States, he can, under certain 
conditions, appeal from the decision of the lower court and 
have his case heard in the Supreme Court. 

Circuit Courts of Appeals. — Below the Supreme Court 
are nine circuit courts of appeals, each having jurisdiction 
in one of the nine circuits into which the United States is 
divided. From two to four judges are appointed in each 
circuit, according to the amount of work to be done. They 
hold sessions in various cities, at which they hear appeals 
from the lower federal courts. In many cases their decisions 
are final, and no appeal to the Supreme Court is allowed. 

District Courts. — The entire territory of the United 
States, including Alaska, Porto Rico, and Hawaii, is divided 
iiito eighty-three judicial districts. Each state constitutes 
at least one district, and some of the larger and more popu- 
lous states have several districts. For example. New York 
has four and California has two. Usually one judge is ap- 
pointed for each district. These district courts hear cer- 
tain cases arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties 
of the United States, and several other classes of cases. 
They also hear appeals from state courts where a federal 
question is involved. 

Special Courts. — Besides these courts, the United States 
has a few courts for the hearing of special cases, which in- 
clude the court of claims and the court of customs appeals. 

The Judicial Department. — This system of federal 
courts, with the necessary judges and other officials, is 
known as the judicial system of the United States; and 
the power to judge cases given to the courts under the Con- 



THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE NATION 187 

stitution is known as judicial power. Like the government 
of the states, the federal government is divided into three 
departments, legislative, judicial, and executive. In Chap- 
ter XXXV we learned of the work of the legislative de- 
partment and we shall examine the executive department in 
the next chapter. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Explain the necessity for federal courts. 

2. What kinds of cases come before the federal courts? Show 
that state courts are not in a position to deal properly with such 
cases. 

3. Why would it not be advisable to leave to the states the power 
of enforcing the national Constitution, laws, or treaties? 

4. What is the Supreme Court of the United States? What 
kinds of cases does it hear? 

5. Explain the work of the circuit courts of appeals. 

6. What is the work of the district courts? Why are so many 
of these courts needed? 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
THE EXECUTIVE POWER OF THE NATION 

The President. — The authority to see that laws are 
obeyed and plans carried out is called executive power. 
The executive power of the United States is placed in the 
hands of the President, who is assisted by a group of men 
called a cabinet. 

The President of the United States is elected for a term 
of four years. No President has ever served for more than 
two terms, though there is no legal reason to prevent longer 
service. The first President, George Washington, retired 
to private life at the end of his second term, and the custom 
which he established has never been broken. 

Duties of the President. — The President is given several 
very important duties and powers. He is commander in 
chief of the army and navy of the United States. He may 
make treaties with foreign nations — though the Senate is 
expected to advise him in this work, and the treaties are 
not valid unless indorsed by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. 
He may nominate ambassadors, consuls, and ministers 
to foreign countries, judges of the Supreme Court, and other 
officers, and if the Senate approves his nominations, he 
may appoint these persons to office. 

It is the duty of the President to inform Congress con- 
cerning public affairs, and to ask it to consider plans and 
measures which he believes would be of benefit to the coun- 
try. In case there is need for legislative action at a time 

188 



THE EXECUTIVE POWER OF THE NATION 189 

when Congress is not in session, the President may call a 
special session. Before acts of Congress become laws, 
they are sent to the President for his signature; if he returns 
any bill to Congress with objections, it cannot become a law 
unless two thirds of the members of both houses vote for it. 

The Cabinet and the Departments. — The Constitution 
of the United States does not make definite arrangements 
for a cabinet; but those who wrote it certainly understood 
that the President would need assistants to manage the 
various departments of executive work, for in Article II, 
Section 2, we find the words, ^^He may require the opinion, 
in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive 
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of 
their respective offices. ^^ 

Congress has passed acts at various times, arranging for 
several departments, each of which has a chief official. The 
heads of all the departments are chosen by the President, 
and it is their duty not only to carry out the laws and plans 
made by Congress, but to give the President advice and help. 

The cabinet at present consists of ten members: Secre- 
tary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, 
Attorney General, Postmaster General, Secretary of the 
Navy, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, 
Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Labor. Each one 
of these manages a department which performs great public 
services. We shall look briefly at some of these services. 
Of course, it will be impossible to remember them all, and 
it is not necessary to do so. 

The Department of State has charge of the foreign 
relations of the United States. It contains divisions, or 
bureaus, devoted to Latin-American affairs, Mexican 
affairs, Far Eastern affairs. Near Eastern affairs, etc. It 



190 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

contains a Diplomatic Bureau and a Consular Bureau, 
which aid the President in selecting men to represent the 
United States abroad, and perform various other functions 
in connection with the diplomatic service. The Depart- 
ment of State also keeps the official records of the United 
States and publishes the laws. 

The Treasury Department cares for the money belong- 
ing to the United States. It has charge of collecting reve- 
nues and of coining money. The work of caring for public 
health, the United States life saving service, and the secret 
service work are managed by this department. 

The War Department is in charge of military affairs. 
There are many subdivisions within the department, each 
devoted to some special branch of work, as quartermaster's 
service, military engineering, ordnance, engineering in 
rivers and harbors, etc. 

The Department of Justice has charge of the work of 
prosecuting certain offenders against the laws of the United 
States, and also of giving the President legal advice in re- 
gard to questions of public law. This department handles 
applications for pardons, supervises and controls federal 
prisons, and does much other work of like nature. 

The Post Office Department and its work have already 
been studied in Chapter XXXI, so we shall not need to 
discuss it here. 

The Navy Department has charge of the construction 
and maintenance of government vessels, shipyards, and 
docks, and the naval service in general. Because of our 
great expanse of seacoast and our island possessions, it has 
been generally felt during the last few decades that the 
United States needs a large navy; and the navy has conse- 
quently been expanded very rapidly. Its development has 



THE EXECUTIVE POWER OF THE NATION 191 

recently been checked in the interests of world peace, as we 
shall learn in a later chapter. 

The Department of the Interior has charge of a good 
deal of very important work. It manages the distribution 
of public lands, the reclamation service, the national park 
service, Indian affairs, pensions, patents, education, and 
various other lines of activity. 

The Department of Agriculture carries on the valuable 
work of gathering and distributing information upon many 
subjects of importance to the farmer. It manages the 
Weather Bureau and a Bureau of Markets, whose object 
is to help producers to find markets for their crops. The 
forest service and the work of developing public roads are 
also undertaken by this department. 

The Department of Commerce, as its name implies, is es- 
tablished to encourage and help the trade of the country. 
It includes a bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, a 
lighthouse bureau, a bureau of navigation, a bureau of fish- 
eries, etc. This department also has charge of taking the 
census every ten years. 

The Department of Labor is intrusted with the work of 
studying labor conditions, of publishing useful information 
in regard to them, and of working to improve them. This 
department has charge of the naturalization service and of 
the United States employment service. It also includes a 
Children's Bureau, which has published valuable material 
upon the proper care and treatment of children, and similar 
topics. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Name the chief executive officer of the United States. 

2. Can you explain why both the President h,nd the Senate 
must take part in arranging treaties with foreign countries? 



192 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

3. Why should power be given to the President to call special 
sessions of Congress? 

4. When was the latest special session of Congress called? What 
measures did it consider? 

5. What is a cabinet? What are the duties of cabinet mem- 
bers? Why are so many executive officers needed? 

6. Make a written list of the cabinet officers and the depart- 
ments which they represent. Find the names of the cabinet mem- 
bers at the present time, and add these to the list. Under each 
department write some of its chief functions. The neatest and 
best list may be fastened upon the wall for reference. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 
NEW PROBLEMS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

New Government Problems. — As time passes, the federal 
government finds new problems constantly arising. To- 
day it faces many important undertakings which were 
hardly dreamed of in the time of Washington and Jeffer- 
son. Let us look at a few of these. 

Road Building. — In recent years there has been a grow- 
ing interest in the question of good roads. People wish to 
travel in automobiles through all parts of the country and 
to send loaded automobile trucks long distances. This is 
impossible unless there are good roads in every state. Real- 
izing the value of good roads for travel and commerce in 
times of peace, and for the moving of men and mihtary 
supplies in time of war, the federal government has under- 
taken to aid the states m building highways. 

It does this in three ways. Sums of money are given 
to states which will appropriate a given amount of their 
own funds for road building, so that the roads are paid 
for by state and nation acting together. The federal gov- 
ernment also prepares specifications as to the nature of the 
roads, in order that they may be of good quality, able to 
bear heavy traffic, and built to last for years. To prevent 
carelessness or dishonesty in building the roads, federal in- 
spectors are supplied, whose work it is to see that the high- 
ways meet the specifications. 

Many states have already accepted the help of the federal 

193 



194 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

government. Therefore, we may hope within a few years 
to find a magnificent system of highways running through- 
out the country. 

Public Education. — For many years the federal govern- 
ment has assisted in the work of public education, by main- 
taining a Bureau of Education at Washington, with a com- 
missioner of education at its head. The chief work of this 
bureau has been to gather and publish valuable information 
concerning educational affairs. This information has been 
distributed to educational authorities and others interested 
in studying such questions, and it has been very useful in help- 
ing and guiding those who plan the work of the public schools. 

It has been proposed to give federal money and help to 
the states in improving and developing their educational 
systems, and in providing special schools for the reeduca- 
tion of disabled soldiers and others who need particular 
kinds of training to enable them to support themselves. 

The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 provides for the appro- 
priation of certain sums of money from the national treas- 
ury for the purpose of aiding the states and cooperating 
with them under certain conditions ^4n paying the salaries 
of teachers, supervisors, and directors of agricultural sub- 
jects, and teachers of trade, home economics, and industrial 
subjects, and in the preparation of teachers of agricultural, 
trade, industrial, and home economics subjects.'' This 
cooperation between nation and state assures the steady de- 
velopment of industrial and vocational education. 

Americanization. — During the great war, the federal gov- 
ernment found itself confronted with new educational prob- 
lems. It was discovered that large numbers of Americans 
are unable to read and write, and that many immigrants 
who have lived in this country for years cannot even 



NEW PROBLEMS OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT .195 

speak English and do not understand our principles of 
government. 

As we know, a democratic government demands educated 
citizens. The federal authorities took immediate steps to 
educate the illiterate English-speaking men in the training 
camps, and to teach the English language to those who did 




In this Americanization class, the students are being taught the English 
language, and American manners and customs. This will help to train 
them for intelligent citizenship. 

not understand it. The men who were in the camps are 
only a small number of the men and women who need such 
training, and an effort is being made to reach the others. 
Federal and state authorities are working hand in hand to 
stamp out illiteracy, to teach our language and our stand- 
ards to immigrants, and to induce them to become natural- 
ized as soon as possible. This latter work is known as 



196 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Americanization; and it may be expected to produce ex- 
tremely good results in making us a truly united people, 
cooperating for the same great purposes. 

Employment Service. — Another problem which has 
grown up during the last few years, and particularly since 
the great war, is that of federal employment service. Much 
has already been done, and more will be done in the future, 
to keep all parts of the country informed about conditions 
of work and supplies of labor everywhere, and to assist those 
who need work to reach places where they can secure it. 

In these and many other ways, our national government 
is working for the benefit of all the people. Its services have 
always been very great, but they are constantly becom- 
ing greater, as modern conditions bring new needs. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Why has the national government undertaken the work of 
helping the states to construct good roads? 

2. Explain the methods by which the government helps in 
providing good roads. 

3. Of what advantage would it be to all citizens if good high- 
ways ran through all parts of the country? 

4. Why do city, state, and nation, all join in promoting public 
education? 

5. What is the work of the United States Bureau of Education? 

6. Learn all that you can about the federal government's work 
for the reeducation of disabled soldiers. 

7. Give the chief provisions of the Smith-Hughes Act. 

8. Explain the meaning of Americanization and learn all you 
can about this work. 

9. Is the work of the federal employment bureaus of benefit to 
anyone beside laborers? If so, to whom? Explain your reasons 
for this statement. 

10. How is it that the work of our national government has grown 
so much since the Constitution was adopted? Is this growth likely 
to continue, or not? Explain your answer. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 
THE PEOPLE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

Our Varied Citizenship. — Owing to the fact that our 
great country has been very liberal in permitting immigra- 
tion from many other lands, our nation today is composed 
of men and women of every race. Some have lived in the 
United States only a short time; some are descended from 
many generations of American citizens. Many still cling 
to certain ideas, habits, and customs of their original homes 
in other parts of the world. 

Fundamental Principles of Democracy. — Since these 
various types of people compose one nation, and since they 
must cooperate in carrying on a democratic government, 
it is very important that all shall understand the principles 
of our government. We have already seen that much is 
being done to teach American ideals and standards to all 
who dwell among us. Of course, it would be ridiculous to 
try to make all persons think alike on every subject, and it 
would be opposed to the meaning of liberty; but there are a 
few fundamental principles on which we must agree if we 
are to have a democratic government. 

For example, we must agree that governments should be 
conducted for the benefit of all the people, and not for the 
power and glory of a few. We must agree that the will of 
the people shall be carried out; and that if there are differ- 
ences of opinion, the will of the majority shall prevail. We 
must agree that rioting, murder, and all other uses of vio- 

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198 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

lence by discontented minorities must be sternly suppressed, 
for there is no excuse for violent methods in a country where 
political liberty is so great as in the United States. We 
must agree that, as improvements in our laws or our 
methods of government are needed from time to time, the 
people shall demand these improvements in peaceable and 
orderly ways. We must agree that, since the oiSicials who 
govern us are chosen by the people or the representatives 
of the people, it is the people who are really responsible 
for good government. Whatever our individual differences 
may be, if we all cherish these principles we shall be able 
to make even greater national progress in the future than 
we have done in the past. 

The Best Type of Citizens. — Since the responsibility for 
good government rests upon the people, who choose their 
own leaders, it is not an exaggeration to say that the best 
type of government is impossible without the best type 
of citizens. In order to make democratic government 
thoroughly efficient and good, in every sense of the word, 
what qualities must be found in the people? 

First of all, as we have already seen, the people must be 
educated, so that they will understand what they are doing, 
will know what measures are for thpir welfare, will be able 
to choose good officials, and will not be misled by dishonest 
politicians. Next, they must be unselfish, ready to work 
for the benefit of their fellow citizens, even though this may 
take time from their personal pursuits. They must be 
public-spirited, so that their first thought about any pro- 
posed measure will be, ^^Is this for the general welfare?'^ 
rather than, ^^How does this affect me?^^ 

Loyal Citizens. — One more quality is absolutely essential 
to the success of popular government— loyalty. Early in 



THE PEOPLE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 199 

our study of government we saw that, in order for a common 
undertaking to be carried on successfully, it is necessary 
for those who are displeased with any measure to submit 
to it until they are able to have it changed in a regular and 
orderly manner. Loyalty does not demand unquestioning 
obedience to law, but it does demand obedience to law. It 
means a feeling of union with all one's fellow citizens; 
a desire to cooperate with them for the good of everyone; 
and a willingness to submit to the will of the majority, even 
when one believes them to be mistaken, until one has per- 
suaded them to a different view. In a country where free 
speech is permitted and all adults may vote, there is no 
excuse for violent opposition to the government or resist- 
ance to law, even when a law seems unjust and oppressive; 
for the remedy lies in the hands of the people themselves. 
The loyal citizen will seek to improve his governmental 
system whenever this is necessary; but he will not be 
tempted to suppose that rebellion is better than persuasion. 
He will not only submit to law, but he will take an active 
interest in the making of law, and will watch his represen- 
tatives carefully to see that they carry out the will of the 
people for whom they are acting. The loyal citizen feels 
love and pride toward his government; not the foolish pride 
that refuses to see anything good in other cities, states, 
or nations, but the true patriotism which means a determi- 
nation to do all in one's power to make one's government 
the best possible agent for the service of all the people. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. Why is it necessary that those who wish to live together 
under a democratic government should agree on certain prin- 
ciples? What would be the result if only a few persons agreed on 



200 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

any principle of government, and the whole nation were divided 
into small groups, each of which disagreed with all the other groups? 
Is it necessary that all people should agree on every point? Ex- 
plain. 

2. Name all the principles you can on which you believe that 
American citizens should agree. Give your reasons for each state- 
ment. 

3. Where should the blame be placed if a democratic government 
is not so efficient as it ought to be? Explain. 

4. What are the necessary qualities of a good citizen? 

5. Write on one of these topics: The Ideal American Citizen; 
Who is Responsible for Our Government? 



CHAPTER XL 
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 

Reasons for Political Parties. — It is practically impos- 
sible to get a large body of people to agree absolutely regard- 
ing any work that ought to be done or the methods that 
should be used. This accounts for the existence of parties, 
since parties consist of people joined together for carrying 
out certain policies which they believe to be right. People 
who believe in a particular policy regarding what the gov- 
ernment ought to do, organize an association, or party, in 
order to accomplish their ends. Thus, the people who 
consider a high tariff necessary for the business welfare of 
the country may organize a party and try to elect enough 
people to Congress to pass laws which will provide for a 
high tariff; and there may be another organization of those 
who believe that it will be to their interest and the interest 
of the country to have a low tariff or no tariff at all. People 
may believe that the most essential thing for the welfare of 
the country is to have all public utilities and other large 
businesses controlled by the national government. These 
people may likewise organize a party to carry out their 
views. We can thus see that because people believe dif- 
ferently regarding governmental policy, they will attempt 
to secure enough votes to elect, to the legislative and other 
branches of the government, people who will carry their 
policies into effect. 

History of Political Parties. — Although the forefathers 

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202 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

who established our government did not beheve in parties 
and tried in every way to discourage them, yet because of 
differences in opinion they were inevitable. Even in the 
Constitutional Convention there were two distinct parties: 
those who believed that the states should be subordinate 
to the Union and who wished a strong central government, 
and those who believed that the national government should 
be given as little power as possible and that the states 
should be superior to the national government. It will be 
impossible in this brief work to tell the history of the polit- 
ical parties, but in the library you can probably find books 
that will give good accounts of party development. 

The principal parties in the United States at the present 
time are the Republican, the Democratic, and the Socialist. 

The Republican Party. — The Republican party grew 
up in the middle of the past century, and in 1860 elected 
Lincoln to the presidency. During the Civil War this 
party drew to itself all who believed in the maintaining of 
the Union, the upholding of the Constitution, a high tariff, 
and homesteading in the West. The successful outcome of 
the war left the Republican party very strong. During the 
war it had found it necessary to levy high tariffs in order 
to pay war expenses. This policy was continued after the 
war and so drew to this party the support of the large busi- 
ness and manufacturing interests of the country. Although 
this tariff policy has come to be less of an issue than for- 
merly, yet even today it constitutes the chief line of differ- 
ence between the Republican and Democratic parties, 
at least as far as policy is concerned. 

The Democratic Party. — The Democratic party after 
the Civil War was composed largely of those who believed 
in a low tariff; and generally speaking, its members repre- 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 203 

sented the agricultural interest not only of the South but 
also to quite a large extent of the West and the Middle West. 
If we should take a map of the United States and mark all 
the states red that in 1916 went Democratic and mark all 
the states blue that went Republican, we could see more 
clearly perhaps than in any other way what was the issue 
between the two greatest parties in the United States. The 
states that are marked red, it will be seen, are the Southern 
and the Western states, most of which are largely agricul- 
tural states. The states marked blue are the great manu- 
facturing and commercial states. The agricultural states 
do not wish a high tariff, because they have goods which 
they wish to sell abroad, such as cotton and tobacuo; and 
in exchange they desire to obtain manufactured goods from 
Europe as cheaply as possible. A high tariff will make 
them pay much more for these goods than otherwise. The 
manufacturing states, on the other hand, are interested in 
having a high tariff to protect their manufactured goods 
from competition with foreign-made goods. 

The Socialist Party. — The Socialist party, which vir- 
tually took its present form in 1900 as a result of the union 
of the Socialist-Labor and the Social-Democratic parties, 
demands certain great economic and political changes. It 
believes, according to its platform, in the public ownership 
of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones, and in the national 
ownership of forests, mines, oil, and other natural resources. 
It also believes that the control of all industry should be in 
the hands of the people instead of in the hands of capitalists; 
and that the state should insure workers against unemploy- 
ment, and should provide old age, sickness, and accident 
pensions. It wishes to have the United States Senate abol- 
ished, to elect by popular vote all judges for short terms of 



204 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

office, and to take away from the Supreme Court the right 
to declare laws unconstitutional. 

The Prohibition Party. — The Prohibition party, which 
held its first national convention in 1872, has worked pri- 
marily for the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of in- 
toxicating liquors. Although this party was never able to 
secure a single vote in the electoral college, it has accom- 
plished its main aim — the national prohibition of liquor 
— by the eighteenth amendment, which was adopted in 
1919. 

Aim of the Party. — In case a party can elect a sufficient 
number of persons to Congress to secure a majority of 
votes, and can also elect the President of the United States, 
it will be able to secure legislation that will carry out its 
pohcies, and will also be able to enforce this legislation. 
The political party, therefore, devotes its principal work 
to seeing that its adherents are elected to office. 

Party Organization. — In order to be sure that a party 
will be able to elect members of Congress, it is necessary 
that the party shall organize everywhere in the United 
States. We thus have national political organizations of 
some sort throughout the country, even in small places. 
The members of each party hold public meetings to explain 
their policies, distribute literature, advertise in newspapers 
and periodicals, and use every available means of persuading 
others to join them. 

Presidential Conventions. — Each party sends represen- 
tatives from every state to a national convention, at which 
the party ^s ^^ platform '^ or statement of principles is written, 
and its candidates for the offices of President and Vice 
President are selected. The makers of the Constitution 
did not wish to have these officers elected by parties, so 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 205 

they provided that each state should appoint persons known 
as electors, who should choose the President and the Vice 
President. (See the Constitution, Article II, Sections 2 and 
3; also the twelfth amendment.) They thought that these 
electors would vote for able men without regard to party. 
This plan, however, did not work out. Each party nomi- 
nates as electors persons who can absolutely be depended on 
to vote for those whom the party has nominated for Presi- 
dent and Vice President. Therefore, although the people 
do not vote directly for these officials, they know that the 
electors will cast their votes for the party candidates; so 
in choosing electors, the people are really choosing the 
President and Vice President. The hopes of our forefathers 
that the electoral college, as the body of electors is called, 
would be free from party influence have not been realized. 

National Parties in Local Elections. — Since national 
parties are thoroughly organized, with branches every- 
where, their members work to elect not only the national 
officers, but also the state and local officers. While it may 
seem absurd to select a man for mayor because he believes 
in or does not believe in a high tariff, yet it is inevitable 
that party politics will continue to play considerable part 
in state and local government. The electing of persons to 
state and local office because of national politics may be 
harmful, as candidates are often helped by the party to win 
such offices simply as a reward for faithful work in the 
national campaign, and not because they are the best per- 
sons for the positions. 

Special Issues in Local Elections. — On the other hand, 
the difficulty of organizing and continuing parties which 
really represent state or local issues is so very great that 
it is not ordinarily attempted. ^^ Reform,'^ ^' fusion/^ or 



206 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

'^independent'' parties seldom outlive one or two campaigns. 
This is due partly to the fact that issues in the state or local 
governments are not so long continuing or so well-defined 
as national issues. They vary from time to time. For 
instance, in one election the municipal issue might be 
whether or not the city should own or operate its own 
electric light plant. Another year the issue might be bonds 
for waterworks, while in a third year the issue might be 
the strict enforcement of certain laws. Evidently no one 
of these issues would form the basis of a permanent party, 
but it might be so important at the time as to cause the 
best citizens to vote as they thought right, regardless of party. 

There is a growing tendency to pay little attention to 
party lines in city affairs, and to vote for the best candidate 
regardless of his ideas on national politics. This will, 
doubtless, lead to better and more efficient municipal gov- 
ernment. 

Principles Advocated by the Party. — Political parties, in 
the national government, and also to a certain degree in the 
state governments, have several important functions to per- 
form. To a large extent they select issues or principles and 
present them to the electorate. This may be true of a 
rather weak party as well as one that is very strong. The 
Prohibition party, for instance, clearly presented one issue 
to the voters of the United States for years until it was 
finally adopted. The Populist party, although of short life, 
presented many issues to the voters of the United States. 
The same may be said of the Progressive party. Every 
party, of course, endeavors by means of united action to 
secure the adoption of its principles. 

Party Responsibility for Officers. — To quite a large ex- 
tent, also, the parties stand in the position of bondsman to 



POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS 207 

the candidartes they select. If John Smith is nominated 
for office by the Democratic party, that party practically 
guarantees that he is the proper man for the place. In 
case he is elected and fails to do efficient work, the party 
suffers at the polls at the next election, provided he holds 
an office of sufficient importance to arouse the interest of the 
people. 

Educating the Voter. — Through extensive campaigns 
waged all over the United States by. speakers, the press, 
magazines, and cartoons, the political parties do a good 
deal of work in the field of public education. If issues were 
more clearly defined, and if people voted more generally 
on issues instead of by habit or tradition, evidently much 
more education could be given the people in this way. 

The Party, a Useful TooL — At all events, the party is a 
definite part of our political system. Whether we make it 
a useful organ in the accomplishment of our ends depends 
largely upon ourselves. If we will join the party really 
representing most fully our political beliefs, and then work 
with it toward the advancement of ends which we consider 
good and proper, we shall make of the party a most useful 
tool in our growing democracy. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. How do you account for the establishment of parties? 

2. What principles does each of the main parties stand for? 

3. Why is it necessary for national parties to organize all over 
the United States? 

4. What is the work of a national political convention? 

5. Are parties necessary? Give reasons for your answer. 

6. What should be our attitude toward the party? 

7. Why do experts in municipal government encourage inde- 
pendent voting in city elections, regardless of party lines? 



CHAPTER XLI 
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

Entangling Alliances. — In his farewell address as Presi- 
dent of the United States, George Washington warned the 
people of this country to beware of entangling alHances 
with European nations. As we were far removed from 
these nations by a large ocean, so that we had little interest 
in their affairs, and as we had all the work we could well do 
in opening and developing our great western country, this 
was sound advice at the time when it was given. 

Closer Connections with Foreign Nations. — Since that 
day, however, enormous changes have taken place. We 
have grown from a weak nation, composed of thirteen states 
all more or less jealous of one another and with a population 
of only about four milHons, to a great unified nation of over 
a hundred and five millions, made up of people from all 
European nations and distributed across a large continent. 
Steam and electricity have shortened the distance between 
us and Europe from months to days, as far as travel is con- 
cerned; while as for communication, all over the United 
States we know at our breakfast tables each morning what 
happened in Europe the day before. No longer is our in- 
terest confined to the settling of the West, for that has 
largely been settled. 

Commercial Relations. — Today, as never before, we 
depend on all the rest of the world for things we need — on 
Ireland for linen, on France for millinery and art works, on 

208 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 209 

England for certain manufactured goods, on China for teas 
and rice, on South America for coffee, rubber, meat, and 
hides, on the islands of the sea for certain fruits, and on 
Japan for silks. Not only are we dependent on these lands 
for articles we need, but we also have goods to exchange 
for these articles. No longer will the home market satisfy 
our business men; they wish the markets of the world. 

Diplomatic Relations. — Now whether we like it or not, 
these commercial relationships with the rest of the world 
make it necessary for us to enter into other relationships as 
well. If our merchants are seeking trade in Japan, South 
America, or any other part of the world, they wish to be 
assured that their lives and property will be safe there. 
This m6ans that a treaty must be established between the 
United States and the foreign country, arranging for trade 
rights, legal protection, and other things necessary to the 
welfare and safety of people doing business in foreign lands. 
Ambassadors or ministers must be exchanged in order that 
each nation may have an official representative in the other 
country concerned. Consuls must be sent from each coun- 
try to the principal cities of the other, to look after the rights 
and interests of their fellow countrymen who may be there. 
Thus commercial relations lead to diplomatic relations. 

The Family of Nations. — Even if our nation wished to 
keep entirely to itself, it would not be able to do so. The 
World War has demonstrated that it is quite impossible for 
us not to be affected very seriously by warfare in Europe, 
no matter how much we may desire to remain neutral. 
For these and other reasons, it is necessary for us to give 
up our policy of ^^no entangling alliances'^ and ^^ splendid 
isolation. '^ We must definitely face the fact that we are a 
part of the family of nations and have our share of respon- 



210 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

sibility for making the world free from war or the fear of 
war, and also for helping to improve the social and economic 
conditions of other peoples. Just as no man in the com- 
munity can say, ^^It is none of my business if others fight, 
are dirty, are poor, or have diseases,'^ so it is no longer pos- 
sible for any nation to say the same thing. Commerce and 
communication have made the people of the world depend- 
ent on one another. The problem confronting our nation^ 
therefore, is how we can best help to make a world where 
there is no war, no poverty, no misery, no disease, and no 
conditions which help to tear us all down. This problem 
is not ours alone. Every civilized country is facing it to- 
day, and many attempts have been made to solve it. One 
of the most interesting of these is the League of Nations. 

The League of Nations. — At the conclusion of the World 
War, the treaty which was signed by most of the nations 
concerned, known as the Treaty of Versailles, contained 
the plan, or covenant, for a League of Nations with per- 
manent headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland. This 
League of Nations is intended to prevent wars by removing 
their causes so far as possible, by providing for the peace- 
able solution of disputes which ordinarily lead to war, 
and by undertaking to help any member of the League 
against attacks from other nations. The United States did 
not become a member of the League of Nations, but it 
is well understood abroad, as well as at home, that our 
earnest desire is to avoid war; and our influence in world 
affairs is felt to be on the side of peace. Though we are not 
included in the League of Nations, an American, Dr. John 
Bassett Moore, is a member of the Court of International 
Justice established by the League to settle disputes between 
various countries. 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 211 

The Disarmament Conference. — In 1921 the United 
States invited several of the most important nations to 
send representatives to a conference at Washington, to 
consider the question of disarmament. This conference met 
in November of that year. It was found necessary to hmit 
the conference to the discussion of naval disarmament, 
leaving the question of land disarmament for future settle- 
ment. 

The work of the conference was embodied in several 
important treaties, which were signed by the representatives 
of the various countries affected by them. The United 
States, Great Britain, France, and Japan signed a treaty 
pledging themselves to respect one another's possessions in 
the Pacific Ocean, and to build no more fortifications there. 
These nations, and Italy, signed a treaty which binds them 
to refrain from using submarines to attack merchant ships 
in time of war, and from using poison gas. Important 
treaties in regard to China's relations with other nations, 
especially with Japan, were signed. 

One of the most important of the several treaties which 
were entered into at this conference is the ^^ five-power 
treaty,'' which binds the United States, Great Britain, 
France, Japan, and Italy to reduce their navies according 
to the specifications contained in the agreement and to 
limit future navy building very strictly. 

The so-called ^^ naval holiday" which this treaty is de- 
signed to bring about will, if faithfully observed, have two 
desirable results. In the first place, it will mean a consider- 
able lightening of the burden of taxation which the building 
of large navies has placed upon the people of the three 
great naval powers (the United States, Great Britain, and 
Japan). Its more important result, however, will be the 



212 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

removal of the fear that one nation desires to conquer 
another by means of its naval strength, since the reduced 
size of the various navies suits them for defense rather than 
conquest. As fear of attack is one of the motives leading 
people into war, the removal of this fear will be a great 
step toward the establishment of permanent peace. 

America's Position Today. — It is evident that we occupy 
a very different position in the world, from that which we 
held at the beginning of our life as a nation. Our vast 
territory, our large population, and our great national 
wealth have given us an importance which we did not 
formerly possess. Our influence in world affairs is now so 
great that we must make a special effort to use it well. We 
must endeavor to set an example of democracy at its best, 
and to lead the world forward toward the goal of universal 
peace and social justice. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. What did President Washington mean by ^^ entangling alli- 
ances'^ ? Give reasons why his advice to avoid participation in 
European affairs was sound at the time. 

2. Explain fully how circumstances have changed so that it is 
now impossible for us to keep entirely to ourselves. 

3. Why did we enter the World War? Read everything you 
can find which will help you to answer this question. 

4. What do you conclude as to the possibility of avoiding all 
share in the concerns of other nations? 

5. What is a League of Nations? In order to make it a success, 
what must be the attitude of all the great nations, and of the indi- 
vidual citizens? 

6. Read in magazines and books a full account of the work of 
the naval disarmament conference at Washington in 1921. 



CHAPTER XLII 
THE FUTURE OF AMERICA 

Forces That Control our Future. — If we try to look 
ahead and to imagine the future of our country, we must 
first take into consideration certain great forces which have 
controlled our national life to a very large extent ever since 
we became a nation, and which will control us even more 
in the future. These forces may be said to be the enormous 
development in the use of machinery, the growth of rapid 
communication, the improvement and the spread of educa- 
tion, the development of the democratic spirit, and the 
rapid growth of the spirit of cooperation. All these factors 
have played and are playing a significant role in the devel- 
opment of all the countries in the world, but in no place, 
perhaps, more than in the United States. 

Development of Machinery. — In a very real way, the 
thousands of machines that we have developed give us the 
equivalent of millions and millions of untiring hands work- 
ing for us day and night. While other countries also use 
a great deal of machinery, perhaps no other land can use 
it so profitably as the United States. Because we have not 
had relatively such a large population as many European 
countries, and our scale of wages has been very high, we 
have developed more machines than other countries to 
do the work of men. Moreover, our large tracts of agricul- 
tural land make farming by machinery profitable; whereas 
in some of the smaller countries of Europe with their 

213 



214 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

tiny plots of land, such things as steam or traction plows, 
thrashing machines, binders, and harvesting machinery 
could not be used to advantage. 

By the proper use of machinery, in our large land of 
wonderful resources it is possible for us to produce enough 
so that every single person can live in health, comfort, and 
happiness. With these millions of iron hands toiling con- 
tinually for us, we can produce enough goods of all sorts to 
abolish poverty and to do away with the bad conditions 
that cause disease. Thus to a large extent we could prevent 
crime and misery, for most crime and misery are caused by 
poverty and disease. 

Development of Rapid Communication. — The second 
great factor that we shall consider is a result of the 
first. Because of the development of steamships, railroads, 
airships, telephones, telegraphs, wireless, and radio, the 
world is for all practical purposes very much smaller than 
when this country was first established. It takes scarcely 
longer to go from end to end of the United States now than 
it took our fathers to travel from New York to Philadelphia 
or from Philadelphia to Washington. We can telephone 
to any place in the United States within a few moments. 
By the use of radio and telephone, people in the Catalina 
Island off the California coast can exchange direct con- 
versation with people on a steamship far off the Atlantic 
coast. With radio, people all over the country can listen 
to lectures and concerts in New York, Chicago, San Fran- 
cisco, and many other places. Such possibilities of com- 
munication were undreamed of a half-century ago. 

Learning to Know One Another. — But why, you may 
ask, is this great development in communication a large 
factor in the future of our country? In the first place, 



THE FUTURE OF AMERICA 215 

we are now linked up with all the rest of the world in a way 
that we have never been before. Every morning we read 
what is happening not only in our own land, but in every 
land under the sun. In hundreds of magazines we see 
pictures and descriptions of other peoples. In our moving 
pictures we see events from all parts of the world that hap- 
pened only a short time before. When we become ac- 
quainted with people, be it onl}^ through description or 
picture, we soon lose our fear and distrust of them and come 
*to understand them and respect them. Because of the 
rapid and convenient means of travel, people from all over 
the world are knowing one another better than has ever 
been possible before in the history of the world. This will 
gradually tend to draw all the people of the world closer 
together in cooperation. 

Drawing the World Together. — The mighty bands of 
commerce also are drawing us close together. We need the 
products of other lands in order to live our lives to the best 
advantage, and these foreign lands need our products. 
Because we have been among the first to develop these won- 
derful new inventions of communication, we shall be among 
the first to be interested in the other peoples of the world 
and to know and understand them. Because of our enor- 
mous wealth resulting from our natural resources, people 
have come here from all lands; they form a close bond of 
union between our country and other countries. Our 
wealth enables us to buy largely in the markets of other 
lands. Our extensive manufactures make us go all over the 
world seeking markets. Through these ways, therefore, we 
shall be among the first to know the people of all the world. 

For all these reasons, we are in a position to become one 
of the great leaders in the life of the world. America should 



216 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

stand, and must stand, a leader in the future development 
of a world fit for everyone to live in. 

Drawing the Nation Together. — Rapid communication 
is also a most important factor in helping us as a nation to 
work together. Does anyone suppose that without all the 
telephones, telegraphs, railroads, automobiles, and airships 
which we employed within a few weeks after we entered the 
great war, we could have united so quickly, almost as one 
family? Now these same means of communication are 
helping us to unite in carrying on, with the same coopera- 
tion, the works of peace. 

Development of Education. — Education was named in 
the beginning of this chapter as one of the great factors that 
will influence the life of America in the future. How will 
it do this? As we become better educated, we shall invent 
more machinery to do things for us; and as we have seen 
before, the proper use of machinery tends to make a better 
and higher civilization. Not only will the use of machinery 
help us to make more products, but it will enable us to have 
more free time to study, travel, and play. Education will 
also help us to make better plans for our industrial life. If 
everyone were well educated, we could undoubtedly pro- 
duce much more than we can at present. 

But education will help us in other ways, too. It will 
help us to understand much better the world in which we 
live. When we really understand the causes of disease, 
poverty, and our other ailments, we shall know much better 
how to fight them. When we understand our relationships 
with one another better, we shall be able to work together 
in a way that we never have done before. The better edu- 
cated we are, the easier it is for us to cooperate. 

The Democratic Spirit. — The fourth factor of profound 



THE FUTURE OF AMERICA 217 

significance, not only in this country but also in all the 
world, is the development of the democratic spirit. This 
is the rapidly developing feeling that each person should be 
free: free to develop all his powers and capabilities through 
working in harmony with others. If we stop to think 
about it, we see that this is the only way in which we can 
be free. Am I more free when I take a gun and have to 
protect myself all alone, or when I cooperate with all others 
in protecting society by helping to establish courts, police, 
and other means of protection? Am I more free when I 
have to depend on my own care in seeing that my milk, 
meat, and canned goods are pure, or when I contribute a 
small tax to the national government, the state government, 
and the city, and they look after all these things for me? 
Formerly men thought only of living under a government 
in which they were free from arbitrary oppression by kings 
and rulers. Now we wish to be free also from all those 
things that endanger our lives, our health, or our welfare. 
But freedom from these things can come only through co- 
operation. 

Cooperation: Learning to Work Together. — The fifth 
and perhaps the greatest factor that will influence our 
future is the factor of cooperation. In order to use our 
wonderful machinery in the best way, we must learn how 
to cooperate. Of what good is a vast machine that can 
turn out thousands of pairs of shoes a day, if because of con- 
flicts between the laborers and those who own it, the machine 
is idle? Even to use our machinery to the best advantage, 
we must learn how to work together. Because of our edu- 
cation and means of communication, we can the more easily 
understand one another, make plans on a larger scale, and so 
develop cooperation. 



218 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

Cooperation in Government. — The greatest of all the 
agencies of cooperation at the present time are the diifferent 
units of government — the city, county, state, and nation. 
It is largely through them and by them that we shall be 
able to solve the problems which must be met in order that 
we may live peaceful, healthful, prosperous, and happy 
lives. 

What, then, do we owe to these governments? In the 
first place, we should do everything in our power to make 
them the right kind of machines for carrying on our work. 
Just as a machine that is wrongly planned, not carefully 
watched and guarded, will fail to do good work, so 
governments that are not planned properly and are not 
carefully controlled by the citizens will fail to do efficient 
work. 

We must give our loyal support to our country, not only 
in times of war but also in times of peace. This means that 
we should give time to working on the problems which must 
be solved in government; that we should be willing to take 
our part in actually carrying on government if we are 
able to do so; that we should study the problems of 
government so as to learn how to vote properly on public 
questions. 

Our Future. — Evidently, then, in the future we shall 
use machinery much more than in the past. This will 
mean not only the production of more goods, but the setting 
free of time and energy for the higher things of life. We 
shall, through development in the means of communication, 
learn more and more how to appreciate and understand 
one another, and so we shall be willing to cooperate. 
Through development in education, we shall become able 
to produce more, to understand and solve our problems 



THE FUTURE OF AMERICA 219 

better, and to cooperate in carrying on great enterprises 
for human welfare — great enterprises of government. 

Need of Changes in Government. — Because these factors 
are changing our Hves rapidly and changing the ways that 
we view things, it may perhaps be necessary for us, from 
time to time, to make changes in the plan of government of 
city, state, and nation, in order that these governments 
may more efficiently do the work required of them. While 
we should not make changes unless we see clearly that they 
will be good for us, yet we should not be afraid of necessary 
improvements, any more than an automobile manufacturer 
is afraid to make a change if he is sure that it will improve 
his car. We should do as our ancestors did who helped 
make this country what it is today; that is, we should make 
the changes that are necessary for bettering conditions at 
the present time. Let us always remember the sound advice 
of Lord Macaulay: ^^It is time that we pay a decent rever- 
ence to our ancestors, not by doing what they under other 
circumstances did, but by doing what they under our cir- 
cumstances would have done.'' 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. If a steam plow can plow ten acres a day while a man and a 
team can plow only two, and it costs no more to run the plow than 
to feed a team of mules, who will be better off, the man with the 
steam plow or the man who uses the mules? What does this show 
as to the value of machinery? 

2. Why can we use machinery to much better advantage than 
most other countries? 

3. Point out three ways in which the rapid development of com- 
munication has made the people of the world more interested in 
one another's business than formerly. 

4. Try discussing any subject in which j^ou are much interested 



220 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

with a person who has a good education and one who has Httle 
education. Which of these persons is the more free from prejudice, 
and which has the greater sympathy with your problem? 

5. What effect has education upon men^s attitude toward 
people of other lands? 

6. Does the word democracy mean only the right to vote? 
What does it mean to you? 



CHAPTER XLIII 

AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP— A PRIVILEGE AND A 
RESPONSIBILITY ♦ 

Who Are the Citizens? — The Constitution of the United 
States declares that ^^All persons born or naturahzed in 
the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
are citizens of the United States and of the state in which 
they reside/' The expression ^^ subject to the jurisdiction 
thereof means coming under the authority of the United 
States. If the ambassador from France and his wife should 
have a son born while they were living in Washington, this 
child would not be a citizen of the United States, even 
though born here, because he would be considered to come 
under the authority of France. Most persons born in this 
countrj^, however, are subject to its jurisdiction; and of 
course when persons are naturalized, they place them- 
selves under its authority. All these persons, of every 
race and age, and of both sexes, are citizens of the United 
States. 

Citizens as Partners of the Nation. — What does it mean 
to be a citizen? First of all, it means that everyone is a 
partner in helping the nation to carry out its great prin- 
ciples of freedom, justice, and service. Even those who 
are too young to help decide public questions can aid in the 
work which must be done. Children as well as grown 
people did a great deal to win the World War; they are 
doing a great deal to promote public health; and there are 

221 



222 



EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 



many other kinds of public work in which they can render 
valuable services. 

Privileges of Citizens. — To be a citizen of the United 
States means also the possession of certain rights and priv- 
ileges. It means that each one has a right to share in the 
services given by the government. For example, any citi- 




These men are taking the oath of allegiance to the United States; 
that is, they are soliemnly promising to renounce the authority of all 
other governments and to accept that of our government. 



zen may receive free of charge, upon his request, useful liter- 
ature on the raising of fruits and vegetables, methods of 
canning food products, the care of children, and many other 
topics. Every citizen of the United States is protected in 
many ways by the laws of the country. Every citizen 
shares in the benefits brought about by federal Pure Food 
laws, measures restricting immigration, and other useful 
laws. Every citizen has the right to his own religious 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 223 

views, to free speech, and to many things for which people 
are still struggling in some countries. These are only a few 
of the rights and privileges enjoyed by citizens of the United 
States. 

Responsibilities of Citizens. — Every citizen has re- 
sponsibilities as well as privileges. If the public work is 
to be done well, each one must feel responsible for learn- 
ing what measures are right and desirable, and for working 
to see that these measures are carried out. If good citi- 
zens refuse to take this responsibility, there are always 
plenty of dishonest and undesirable persons who will quietly 
take charge of public affairs and manage them for personal 
profit rather than for the good of all. 

Each citizen is responsible for keeping before himself 
and before others the ideal of progress. No human insti- 
tution is perfect: and as conditions change, laws and public 
measures must be changed also. While we look to the great 
men of the past for help and inspiration, we must not be 
misled into making them our only guides. The needs of 
the present and our hopes for the future must always be 
kept in mind, so that our country may continue to be 
among the most progressive nations of the world. 

Studying Public Questions. — In order to exercise our 
responsibilities properly, we must all be willing to devote a 
part of our time to public affairs. Public questions demand 
careful study, and every good citizen ought to examine 
such questions from all sides. Even those too young to vote 
should do this, in order to gain a knowledge of these matters 
which will be useful later. Everyone who is privileged 
to vote should regard it as his duty to exercise this privi- 
lege, for he must remember that unless the people take part 
in public affairs, there can be no real democracy. As 



224 EVERYDAY CITIZENSHIP 

soon as good citizens neglect public matters, they fall under 
the control of dishonest men, who are always seeking an 
opportunity to place themselves in power. 

Helping the Government. — Even more time than that 
devoted to the study of public questions and to voting 
should be given to the duties and responsibilities of citi- 
zenship. Whenever the government needs help, whether 
in conducting a baby-saving campaign, in fighting tuber- 
culosis, or in carrying on any other great enterprise, every 
citizen should be willing to give all the help that he possibly 
can. 

How Can We Make America a Leader? — We must 
always remember that a democratic nation is not a ma- 
chine which can be started and left; it is a partnership in 
which every citizen must do his share all the time. It is 
the hope and the cherished vision of every true American 
to see his country a leader among free nations, a land where 
liberty and justice prevail, where each citizen has the op- 
portunity to live a happy and useful life, and where the 
best and most progressive institutions flourish. But it 
takes hard work to make dreams come true, and the loyal 
citizen will be ready to do his share of the work. An intelli- 
gent, interested, helpful body of citizens, willing to cooperate 
for the good of all, can make Americans future even greater 
than her splendid past. 

FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION 

1. When is a person a citizen of the United States? Are citizens 
and voters the same? Explain. 

2. Name some of the rights of citizens. 

3. Name some of the duties of citizens. 

4. Is it fair to ask for rights and privileges if we refuse to carry 
out our duties? Why? 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 225 

5. Can a democratic country succeed if citizens are selfish, 
lazy, and unconcerned about public affairs? Explain your answer, 
and describe the results of such an attitude. 

6. Why is it necessary to think of progress? Is not our country 
great and rich alread}^? 

7. What do you think of the so-called good citizen who refuses 
to take an interest in politics because so many dishonest and selfish 
men are in control? Why do such men control pohtics? What 
is the remedy? 

8. Why do public questions demand study? What is the use 
of looking at a question from all sides? 

9. Why should citizens aid in carrying out public work? 

10. What do you want America to be in the future? How can 
you show that this wish is genuine? 

11. Write an article on the topic, '^My Rights and My Duties 
as an American Citizen." 



SUGGESTIONS FOR OUTSIDE READING 

General Reference 

Beard, Charles A., American Government and Politics j Mac- 

millan, 1914. 
Beard, Charles A., Readings in American Government and 

Politics J Macmillan, 1911. 
Leaeock, Stephen, Elements of Political SciencCj Houghton 

Mifflin, Revised edition, 1920. 
Willoughby, W. F., Introduction to the Study of the Government 

of Modern States^ Century, 1919. 
Wilson, Woodrow, The. State. Special Edition, December, 1918, 

Heath. 

Local Government 
Streets 

Munro, W. B., Principles and Methods of Municipal Adminis^ 
tration, Macmillan. 

Police and Justice 

Fold, L. F., Police Administration j Putnam. 

Beard, Charles A., American City Government^ Century, 1912. 

Fire Fighting and Prevention 

Munro, W. B., Principles and Methods of Municipal Adminis- 
tration, Macmillan. 

Health and Sanitation 

Hill, H. W., The New Public Health, Macmillan, 1916. 

The Water Supply 

Folwell, A. P., Water Supply Engineering, Wiley, 1917. 

227 



228 SUGGESTIONS FOR OUTSIDE READING 

Disposal of Garbage, Sewage, etc. 

Munro, W. B., Principles and Methods of Municipal Adminis- 

tration, Macmillan. 
Baker, M. N., Municipal Engineering and Sanitation, 

Public Schools 

Dutton and Snedden, The Administration of Public Education 
in the United States, Macmillan. 

Recreation and General Welfare 

Lyle, W. T., Parks and Park Engineering, Wiley, 1916. 
Beard, Charles A., American City Governmentj Century, 1912. 

The Mayor-Council Plan 

Munro, W. B., The Government of American Cities, Chap. VIII, 
Macmillan. 

The Commission and the Commission-Manager Plans 

Munro, W. B., The Government of American Cities, Chaps. Ill, 
XII, XV, Macmillan. 

The Township-County Government 

Fairlie, J. A., Local Government in Counties, Towns, and ViU 

lages, Century, 1906. 
Maxey, C. C, County Administration, 1919. 
King, C. L. (Ed.), County Government, Annals of the American 

Academy, Vol. 47, 1913. 

State Government 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics, Chaps. XXII 
to XXXII, Macmillan. 

Munro, W. B., The Government of the United States, Chaps. 
XXVII to XXXVI, Macmillan. 

Mathews, J. M., Principles of American State Adminis&ation, 
Appleton, 1917. 

Holcombe, A. N., State Government in the United States, Mac- 
millan. 

Whipple, G. C, State Sanitation, Harvard University Press. 

Jenks, Edward, The State and the Nation. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR OUTSIDE READING 229 

Party Government in the United States 

Hadley, A. T., Undercurrents in American PoliticSy Yale Uni- 
versity Press. 

Ray, P. 0., Introdnctioh to Political Parties and Practical 
Politics, Scribners. 

Woodburn, J. A., Political Parties and Party Problems in the 
United States, Putnam. 

The Federal Government 

Beard, Charles A., American Government and Politics, Mac- 

millan. 
Munro, W. B., The Government of the United States, Macmillan. 
Young, James T., The New American Government and Its Work, 

Macmillan. 
Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth, Macmillan. 
Fairlie, J. A., The National Administration of the United States^ 

Macmillan. 
Ashley, R. L., The American Federal State, Macmillan. 
Yard, R. S., Book of National Parks, Scribners, 1919. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

PREAMBLE 

We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- 
mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Con- 
stitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House 
of Representatives. 

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors 
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State Legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he 
shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes ^ shall be apportioned among the several 
States which may be included within this Union, according to their re- 
spective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole num- 
ber, of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, 
and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons. 2 The 
actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting 
of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of 
ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of 
representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
State shall have at least one representative ; and until such enumeration 
shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three ; 
Massachusetts, eight ; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one ; 
Connecticut, five ; New York, six ; New Jersey, four ; Pennsylvania, eight ; 
Delaware, one ; Maryland, six ; Virginia, ten ; North Carolina, five ; South 
Carolina, five ; and Georgia, three. 

* See the Sixteenth Amendment. 
2 See the Fourteenth Amendment. 
230 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 231 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the execu- 
tive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shaU choose their Speaker, and other 
officers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years ; 
and each senator shall have one vote.^ 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. 
The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration 
of the second year ; of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year ; 
of the third class, at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may 
be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or 
otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the 
legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall 
be chosen. 

The Vice President of the United States shall be president of the Senate, 
but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the 
office of President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside : and 
no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the 
members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to re- 
moval from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted shall 
nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and 
punishment, according to law. 

Section 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legis- 
lature thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter 
such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meet- 
ing shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
appoint a different day. 

Section 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute 
a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 

1 See the Seventeenth Amendment. 



232 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, 
in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its mem- 
bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel 
a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require 
secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any ques- 
tion shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than 
that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensa- 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury 
of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from 
the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be 
questioned in any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall 
have been increased, during such time ; and no person holding any office 
under the United States shall be a member of either house during his con- 
tinuance in office. 

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments 
as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of the 
United States ; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, 
with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall 
enter the objection at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. 
If after such reconsideration, two thirds of that house shall agree to pass 
the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, 
by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds 
of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 
houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons 
voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house 
respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten 
days (Sunday excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same 
shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by 
their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of 
adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 233 

and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being 
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed 
in the case of a bill. 

Section 8. ^The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, 
duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common 
defence and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts, 
and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States 
and with the Indian tribes ; 

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States. 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures ; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current 
coin of the United States ; 

To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for 
limited times, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries ; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offences against the law of nations ; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water ; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

To provide and maintain a navy ; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections and repel invasions. 

To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United 
States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, 
and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline pre- 
scribed by Congress ; 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district 
(not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, 
and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the 
United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by 
the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for 
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful 
buildings ; — and 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 



234 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Con- 
stitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or 
officer thereof. ♦ 

Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of 
the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited 
by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, 
but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten 
dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.^ 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
to the ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to, 
or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of ap- 
propriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time 
to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and no person 
holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent 
of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any 
kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Section 10. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con- 
federation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills 
of credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any impost or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all duties and impost, 
laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury 
of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and 
control of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, 
keep troops, or ships-of-war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or 
compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, 
unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of 
delay. 

ARTICLE II 

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 

1 See the Sixteenth Amendment. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 235 

years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be 
elected, as follows : 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may 
direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and 
representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress ; but 
no senator or representative, or person holding any office of trust or profit 
under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

The electors ^ shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot 
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the 
same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons 
voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they shall sign and 
certify and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if there be 
more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, 
then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one 
of them for President ; and if no person have a majority, then from the 
five highest on the list the said house shall, in like manner, choose the 
President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by 
States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the 
States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In 
every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest 
number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there 
should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose 
from them by ballot the Vice President. 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States 
at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the 
office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who 
shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen 
years resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may 
by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, 
both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then 
act as President ; and such officer shall act accordingly until the disability 
be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

1 See the Twelfth Amendment. 



236 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
tion which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for 
which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period 
any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following 
bath or affirmation: — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faith- 
fully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the 
best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States." 

Section 2. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when 
called into the actual service of the United States ; he may require the 
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices; 
and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against 
the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur ; and 
he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate 
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of 
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose ap- 
pointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab- 
lished by law : but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such 
inferior officers, as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts 
of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire 
at the end of their next session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information 
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such meas- 
ures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary 
occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree- 
ment between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may 
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive am- 
bassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. 

Section 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con- 
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III 

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in 
one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from 
time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 237 

stated times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. 

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; — to all 
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; — to all 
cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; — to controversies to which 
the United States shall be a party ; — to controversies between two or 
more States ; — between a State and citizens of another State ; ^ — between 
citizens of dififerent States ; — between citizens of the same State claiming 
lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the Supreme 
Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such 
exceptions and under such regulations as the congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury ; 
and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have 
been committed ; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall 
be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Section 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. 

No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two 
witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but 
no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except 
during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, 
records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, whO' 
shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of 
the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, 
to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, 

1 See the Eleventh Amendment. 



238 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim 
of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction 
of any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more 
States, or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the 
States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the 
United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as 
to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the Executive 
(when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, 
shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of 
the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a convention 
for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents 
and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures 
of three fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three fourths 
thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by 
the Congress ; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect 
the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article \ and that 
no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this 
Constitution, as under the confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall b© 
made in pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in 
the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members 
of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, 
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath 
or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever 
be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United 
States. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 239 

ARTICLE VII 

The ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for 
the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the 



same. 



AMENDMENTS 



"Amendments I-X were adopted in 1791; XI in 1798; XII in 1804; 
XIII in 1865 ; XIV in 1868 ; XV in 1870 ; XVI and XVII in 1913 ; XVIII 
in 1919. 

ARTICLE I 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech, 
or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to 
petition the government for redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II 

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, 
the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without 
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be pre- 
scribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, 
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or 
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the 
person or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual 
service in time of war and public danger ; nor shall any person be subject 
for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be 
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor to be 
deprived of Hfe, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall 
private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy 
and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the 



240 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously 
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the 
accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have com- 
pulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assist- 
ance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact 
tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United 
States than according to the rules of common law. 

ARTICLE VIII 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be con- 
strued to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
the people. 

ARTICLE XI 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against any of the 
United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any 
foreign state. 

ARTICLE XII 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for 
President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an in- 
habitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall name in their ballots 
the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted 
for as Vice President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted 
for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the 
number of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the presi- 
dent of the Senate ; — the president of the Senate shall, in the presence of 
the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the 
votes shall then be counted ; — the person having the greatest number of 
votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such 



I 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 241 

majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding 
three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the 
President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each 
State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member 
or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States 
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall 
not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon 
them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice Presi- 
dent shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional 
disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of 
votes as Vice President, shall be the Vice President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have 
a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall 
choose the Vice President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two 
thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole num- 
ber shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally in- 
eligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President 
of the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of 
the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of 
persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right 
to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice 
President of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive or 
judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is 
denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one 
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, 
except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representa*- 
tion therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such 



242 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one 
years of age in such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, 
or elector of President or Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, 
under the United States, or under any State, who having previously taken 
oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a 
member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of 
any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have en- 
gaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort 
to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two thirds of each 
house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, au- 
thorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be 
questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or 
pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against 
the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; 
but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV 

Section 1. The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from 
-whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, 
and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

ARTICLE XVII 

Section 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years ; and 
each senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have 
the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State Legislature. 

Section 2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State 
in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of elec- 
tion to fill such vacancies : Provided, That the Legislature of any State may 
empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the 
people fill the vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 243 

Section 3. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the 
election or term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 

ARTICLE XVIII 

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manu- 
facture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation 
thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all terri- 
tory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby 
prohibited. 

Section 2, The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent 
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been 
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the Legislatures of the sev- 
eral States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the 
date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. 

ARTICLE XIX 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of 
sex. 

Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 



INDEX 



Agricultural colleges, 106 
Agriculture, Department of, 164, 
185, 191 

improved methods of, 164, 165 

Secretary of, 189 
Allegiance, oath of, 222 
Alliances with foreign nations, 208 
Amendments, to federal Con- 
stitution, 173, 239 

to state constitutions, 97, 98 
Americaaization, 65, 194-196 
Amusercents, city provisions for, 

68,69 
Appointments, by governor, 132, 
177 

by President, 177, 188, 189 
Army of the United States, 144, 
145, 185 

control of, 144, 145, 190 

size of, 144-145 
Articles of Confederation, 138, 139 
Assembly, state, 126 
Attorney General, federal, 189 

prosecuting, 123 
Autocracy, 3 
Automobile, license fees, 136 

Ballot, 88, 89 

Banks, regulation of, 101 
Bill of Rights, 95 
Birth record, 42 
Blind, care of, 99, 112 
Bonds, government, 101, 168 
Borrowing money, by govern- 
ment, 168, 169, 178 



Budget, system, 169, 170 

law of 1921, 169, 170 
Building, code, 36 

inspection of, 41 
Business, regulation by govern- 
ment, 10, 96, 97, 101 

Cabinet, 189-191 

Canals, construction of, 97, 136 

Census, 191 

Charter of city, 72, 77, 78 

Children, care of, 100 

care of homeless, 110, 111 

care of wayward, 9, 110 
Children's Bureau, 11, 191 
Circuit courts of appeals, 186 
Citizen, definition of, 221 

privileges of, 222, 223 

responsibilities of, 197-199, 223, 
224 
City, affairs controlled by, 13, 14 

charter, 72, 77, 78 

council, 73 

courts, 121 

government, by commission- 
manager plan, 81, 82 
by commission plan, 77-79 
by mayor-council plan, 73-76 

manager, 81, 82 

officers of, 73, 77-78, 81, 82 

organization of, 72-82 
Collection of taxes, 89 
Colleges, 106 

agricultural, 106, 107 

municipal, 64 



245 



246 



INDEX 



Commerce, bureau of, 191 

Department of, 191 

foreign, 142, 143, 148, 149, 179, 
208, 209, 215, 216 

interstate, 143, 152, 153, 179, 
180 

national control of, 137, 138 

regulation by Congress, 178-180 

Secretary of, 189 
Commission form of city govern- 
ment, 77-80 
Commissioner-Manager plan of 

city government, 80-82 
Commissioner, of city, 77-81 

of county, 89 

of health, 39, 117 
Committees in Congress, 169 

in state assembly, 128-129 
Communication, systems of, 10, 

208, 214 
Community centers, 69 
Concerts, free, 66 
Confederation, Articles of, 138 
Conference at Washing to q, 211 
Congress, continental, 138, 139 

members of, 175 

powers of, 144, 145, 175, 177-180 
Conservation, need for, 160, 161 

of forests, 160-162 

of food, 145 

of land, 163, 164 

of minerals, 162, 163 

of natural resources, 160-165 
Constitution, adoption of, 140 

amendments of, 97, 172, 173, 
239 

federal, 93, 171-173, 230 

state, 94-98 
Constitutional Convention, 140 
Consular, bureau, 190 

service, 209 



Continental Congress, 138,139 
Convention, Constitutional, 140 

Presidential, 204, 205 
Cooperation, in government, 217; 
218 

spirit of, 213 
Copyrights, 180 

Corporations, government con- 
trol of, 96 

taxes on, 135 
County, clerk, 90 

courts, 87, 122 

government, 15, 16, 87-90 

jail, 87, 124, 125 

judicial system in, 87 

records, 90 

work of, 87-90 
Course of study, school, 60 
Courts, cases tried in, 183, 184 

circuit, 122, 186 

city, 121 

civil, 30, 31 

county, 87, 122 

district, 122, 186 

federal, 182-187 

juvenile, 31, 122 

municipal, 121 

of appeal, 186 

of International Justice, 210 

police, 30 

probate, 122 

special, 122, 186 

state, 120-122 

superior, 122 

supreme, federal, 184-186; state, 
122 

traffic, 31 
Crime, prevention of, 19, 20, 26, 

27. {See Pohce.) 
Crippled, care of, 112 
Currency, 143, 180 



INDEX 



247 



Deaf, care of, 9, 112 
Death, rate, 39, 42 

records, 42 
Debt, national, 168, 169 
Defense, national, 7, 139, 144-147 

under Articles of Confederation, 
139 
Delinquents, care of, 110 
Democracy, definition of, 3 

fundamental principles of, 197, 
198 

spirit of, 212, 213, 216, 217 
Democratic party, 149, 202, 203 
Departments, of city govern- 
ment, 19-82 

of government, 95, 96 

of national government, 174- 
191 

of state government, 118-134 

of the President's cabinet, 181- 
191 
Desert Land Act, 164 
Diplomatic, bureau, 190 

relations, 209 
Disarmament Conference, 211 
Disease. {See Health). 
District courts, 122, 186 
Divisions of government, 13, 18 
Duties, 167. {See Tariff.) 

Education, boards of, 62, 81, 105 
bureau of, 9, 191 
compulsory, 60, 61 
course of study, 60 
exhibits to promote, 66 
federal work for, 194 
for citizenship, 216 
for the handicapped, 112 
higher, 106 
in fire prevention, 37 
of prisoners, 125 



Education, professional, 106 

special agencies for, 64-66 

to prevent tuberculosis. 111, 112 

work of city for, 59-66 

work of county for, 87 

work of state for, 96, 99, 105- 
107 
{See Schools.) 
Elections, boards of, 88 

in initiative and referendum, 129 

influence of parties in, 204-207 

local, 205, 206 

of President, 204, 205 

of Vice President, 204, 205 

state, 127, 128 
Electoral College, 205 
Employment service, 70, 191, 196 
Excess profits tax, 168 
Executive department, defined, 131 

of nation, 188-191 

of state, 131-133 
Exports, 148 

Federal government, 137-224 

, trade commission, 152, 153 
Feeble-minded, care of, 109, 110 
Fence-viewer, 85 
Filtration of water, 46, 47 
Finances, of national govern- 
ment, 167-170 

of state, 134-136 
Fire, alarm signals, 35 

apparatus for fighting, 33 

Department, 34, 35 

losses from, 33, 35-36 

methods of preventing, 36-37 
Fisheries, bureau of, 191 
Five-Power Treaty, 211 
Food, administration, 145 

inspection of, 40, 41, 102, 115 

Pure Food Act, 11 



248 



INDEX 



Foreign commerce, 139, 142, 143, 
148, 149, 179, 208, 209, 215, 
216 
mail service, 10, 155 
relations, 142, 143, 208-212 
Forest, conservation of, 160-162, 

191 
Fuel administration, 145 

Galveston, Texas, 77, 78, 79, 80 

Gambling, 70 

Garbage, methods of removing, 

51-53 
Government, autocratic, 3 

definition of, 3 

democratic, 3-5, 197, 198 

divisions of, 13-18 

functions of, 6-12 

need of, 1-2 

of city, 13-15, 19-84 

of county, 15, 16, 87-90 

of nation, 15, 137-224 

of state, 15, 91-136, 171, 172 

of township, 15, 16 

representative, 3 

responsibilities of, 11 
Governor, influence of, 131-133 

qualifications of, 131 

powers of, 131-133 

Handicapped, helping the, 112 
Health, boards of, 39-43, 115, 117 
campaigns, 42, 116, 117 
Department, 39-43, 117 
government control of, 9 
in buildings, 41 
in schools, 40 

sewage, a menace to, 55, 115 
work of city for, 39-43 
work of state for, 114-117 
Hospital service, 41, 42 



House of representatives, na- 
tional, 175 
of state legislatures, 126-128 

Immigration, 143, 149-152, 195 

need for restricting, 149, 150 

bureau of, 151, 152 
Imports, 148, 149 
Income taxes, 135, 168 
Inheritance tax, 135 
Initiative, 129 
Insane, care of, 9, 17, 109 
Inspection of factories, 41, 116, 117 

of food, 40, 41, 102, 115 

of public buildings, 41 

of schools, 107 

of weights and measures, 102 
Institutions, care of special 

classes, 8, 99, 109-112 
Insurance, governmental, 11 

state control of, 96 
Interior, Department of, 191 

Secretary of, 189 
International, alliances, 208-212 

postal union, 10 
Interstate commerce, 143, 152, 

153, 179, 180 
Irrigation, 164 

Jail, county, 87, 124, 125 
Judge, 119, 120, 123, 124 

functions of, 29 
Judicial system, of city, 30 

of county, 87 

of nation, 182-187 

of state, 118-124 
Jury, 119, 122-124 
Justice, administration of, 8 

Department of, 190 

of supreme court, 169 

of the peace, 121 
Juvenile court, 31, 122 



INDEX 



249 



Labor, Department of, 191 

Secretary of, 189 
Land, conservation of, 164, 165 

made from waste, 53 • 
Laws, criminal, 102 

for protection of citizens, 102 

kinds of, 100-102 

need for, 100 

regarding business, 101 

regarding personal relation- 
ships, 100 

regarding property, 100, .101 

state, 99-102 
League of Nations, 210 
Lectures, free, 66 
Legislative department, of nation, 
175-180 

of state, 126-130 
Legislature, state, 126-129 

of two houses, 126., 127 
Libraries, 66 
Licenses, 136 
Life-saving service, 190 
Lighthouse bureau, 191 
Losses from fire, 33, 36, 37 
Lynching, 8 

Machinery, influence of, 213, 214 
Markets, bureau of, 191 
Marriage, laws regarding, 100 
Mayor, 73-77 

Mayor-council plan of city gov- 
ernment, 72-76 
Mihtary power of Congress, 144, 
180 

of governor, 132, 133 

of President, 145 
Mihtia, state, 132, 133 
Minerals, conservation of, 162, 163 
Mint at Philadelphia, 142 
Money, coining, 143, 180, 190 



Moving-picture houses, 69 
Municipal courts, 121. {See City.) 
Museums, 66 

National debt, 168, 169 

defense, 7, 139, 144-147 
National government, 15-17, 137- 
224 

departments of, 175-191 

development of, 137-141 

limitations on, 172 

need for, 137, 138 

powers of, 171, 172 

work of, 142, 143 
Natural resources, <:onservation 
of, 160-165 

kinds of, 160 
Naturalization, 143, 191, 221, 

222 
Naval Disarmam_ent Conference, 
211 

Holiday, 211 
Navigation, bureau of, 191 
Navy, 145, 147 

Department, 190 

Secretary of, 147, 189 

reduction of, 147, 211, 212 
Normal schools, 64 

Panama Canal, 178 
Parcel post, 143, 155 
Pardons, 133, 190 
Parish, 87 
Parks, 68, 191 
Parties, political, 201-207 

aims of, 204 

history of, 201, 202 

in local elections, 205, 206 

organization of, 204 

principles of, 206 

reasons for, 201 



250 



INDEX 



Parties, responsibility for officers, 

206, 207 
Patents, 180, 191 
Peace, steps towards permanent, 

210-212 
Pensions, 191 
Playgrounds, 69 
Police, 26-29 

courts, 30 

department, 26-31 

duties of, 26-29 

traffic, 27 

training schools for, 29 

women, 28 
Politicar parties, 201-207 
Poll tax, 135 

Population of United States, 163 
Porto Rico, 180 

Post Office Department, 10, 155- 
158, 190 

expenses of, 158 

revenues of, 145 
Postal, money orders, 157 

savings banks, 143, 156, 157 

service, 10, 143, 155-158 
Postmaster' General, 157, 158, 189 
Pound-keeper, 85 
President, cabinet of, 189-191 

duties of, 188, 189 

election of, 204, 205 

military powers of, 145 

term of, 188 

veto power of, 189 
Presiding officer of state legisla- 
tures, 128 
Prisons, 124, 125, 190 
Prohibition, amendment, 173, 243 

party, 204 
Property, inheritance of, 100, 135 

laws regarding, 100 

tax, 89, 134, 135 



Property, transfer of, 100, 101 
Protective tariff, 148 

Quarantine, 40 

Radio, 214 

Railroads, control of, 96, 97, 143, 

179, 180 
Rainwater, disposal of, 56, 57 
Reclamation of arid lands, 164, 191 
Recreation, 68-70 
Referendum, 129 
Regents, board of, 105 
Representative democracy, 4 
Representatives, election of, 128, 
175 

House of, 4, 126-129 

number of, 175 

qualifications of, 175 

term of, 175 
Republican party, 149, 202 
Revenue, fedeial, 158, 190 

state, 134-136 
Roads, care of. 89 

construction of, 89, 97, 135, 191, 
193 
Rubbish, sorting and destroying, 
53, 54 

making land from, 53 
Rural mail delivery, 155, 156 

Sanitary code, 39 
Sanitation. (See Health.) 
Schools, attendance at, 107 

boards, 62, 81, 105 

buildings, 61-62 

coarse of study in, 60 

elementary, 60-61 

financial aid for, 105, 106, 194 

for training policemen^ 29 

health in, 40 

high, 61, 106 



INDEX 



251 



Schools, inspection of, 107 

night, 64, 65 

special classes in, 64 

superintendent of, 62, 81, 105 

vocational, 61, 64 
{See Education.) 
Secret service, 190 
Secretary, of Agriculture, 189 

of Commerce, 189 

of Labor, 189 

of the Navy, 147, 189 

of State, national, 189 

of the Interior, 189 

of the Treasury, 189 

of War, 145, 189 
Selectmen, 85 
Senate, state, 126-128 

United States, 175-177, 188 
Senators, United States, election 
of, 176, 177 

number of, 175, 176 

qualifications of, 177 

term of, 176 
Sewage, 55, 56, 114, 115 
Sheriff, 90 

Smith-Hughes Act, 194 
Snow, removal of, 22, 23 
Social welfare, 11, 96 
Socialist party, 203 
Soldiers, care of old and disabled, 

112 
Speaker of assembly, 128 
Special classes, care of, 99, 109-112 

in schools, 64 
State, affairs controlled by, 14 

Department of, 189, 190 

finances, 134-136 

functions of, 99 

government, 15, 91-136, 171, 
172 

judicial system, 118-125 



State, laws, 100-103 

legislature, 126-129 

officers of, 95, 96 

powers of, 92, 93, 171, 172 

prison, 124, 125 

size of, 92 

supervision of schools, 62, 99, 
105-107 

taxes, 134-136 

universities, 106 
Streets, advantages of good, 
20 

cleaning, 21, 22 

lighting, 23, 24 

paving, 20, 21 
Superintendent of schools, 62, 81, 

105 
Supreme court, national, 184- 
186 

state, 122 
Surrogate court, 122 

Tariff, 148, 167, 202, 203 

commission, 149 

for revenue only, 148 

protective, 148 
Taxation, as result of ''naval 
holiday," 211 

power of Congress,, 177, 178 

rate of, 89 
Taxes, 97 

collection of, 89 

corporation, 135 

definition of, 89 

excess profits, 168 

excise, 167 

income, 135, 168 

inheritance, 135 

poll, 135 

property, 89, 134, 135 

state, 134, 135 



252 



INDEX 



Theaters, 69 

Thiift stamps, 157 

Town meeting, in New England, 

84,85 
Township, government of, 15, 16, 

84-86 
Traffic poUce, 27 

courts, 31 
Treasury, Department, 190 

Secretaiy of, 189 
Treaties, Five-Power, 211 
foreign, 209, 210, 211 
of Naval . Disarmament Con- 
ference, 211 
on relations with China, 211 
ratification of, 177, 188 
Treaty of Versailles, 210 
Trial, by jury, 122-124 
Tuberculosis, prevention of, 9, 

66, 111-112, 114, 115, 117 
Typhoid fever, 114 

Universities, 64, 106, 107 

Versailles, Treaty of, 210 
Veto power of governor, 132 
, of President, 189 



Vice President, election of, 204, 205 
Voting, 59, 79, 96, 97. (See Elec- 
tions.) 

War, Department, 190 
declaration of, 180 
powers of Congress, 180 
Secretary of, 145, 189 
The World War, 111, 112, 144- 
147, 168, 180, 210, 211, 221 
War savings stamps, 157 
Waste, disposal of, 51-57 
making land from, 53 
reason for removal, 51, 52 
Water, chemical treatment of, 47 
filtration of, 46, 47 
hard, 47, 48 
paying for use of, 48 
preventing waste of, 49 
protection of, 114, 115 
supply, 45-49, 115 
Weather Bureau, 191 
Weights and measures, 102, 180 
Wills, 101 

Wilson, President, 8, 146 
Woman sufTrage, 173 
Women on poUce force, 28 



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